Lindsey's Luscious

BIG NEWS!!!

2009-10-25T23:36:00.013-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, though this announcement comes at least a decade late in my evolution as a grown-up, I have some important news. Despite my very modest salary teaching at a community college, spotty credit issues of the past, and monumental student loan debt, I have, at long last, become a homeowner! Thanks to relaxed qualifications for the no-money-down USDA Rural Housing Loan and the allure of major federal and state tax incentives, I was finally ready to take the plunge! After more than a year of searching listings and viewing properties, three realtors, four mortgage brokers, and a substantive homebuying education program provided by HGTV (Property Virgins, House Hunters, and My First Place), I managed to find a cute little 1900 farmhouse on 1.2 acres--plenty of room for the dogs and for my gardening efforts--that is closer to work and just five minutes from town, yet still in a country setting.

Originally listed for $125K, I used my rigorous HGTV training to negotiate a heck of a deal at $113K with the sellers paying $5000 in closing costs. And the best part of all, though there are many projects to be attended to eventually, the house has a FABULOUS updated eat-in kitchen with adjoining computer desk that is just PERFECT for a food blogger like myself!

I am so excited to make the move over Thanksgiving weekend, though NOT excited to pack up a house where I've lived (and accumulated crap!) for nine years--especially right at the busiest part of the semester. God help me! So as you can imagine, I am more than a bit OVERWHELMED right now, so I am not spending as much quality time in the kitchen. But I do have a couple of quickie recipes to share nevertheless.

The first is an autumnal salad idea that I first sampled at my friend June's fabulous Canadian Thanksgiving celebration over our Columbus Day weekend. It's ridiculously simple, but SO amazing! You'll want some greens of your choice, crumbled blue cheese, sliced apples, candied pecans, and balsamic vinaigrette. SO YUMMY! Speaking of apples, have you tried the new SweeTango variety, an offshoot of the Honeycrisp? Well, you should! For the pecans, I browned them in some butter, then sprinkled them with a couple of tablespoons of maple sugar (though brown sugar would do). And for the vinaigrette, I whisk together a half cup each olive oil and balsamic vinegar, along with a tablespoon of spicy brown mustard, and a little honey to taste. Season with salt and pepper, and if you're feeling adventurous, a pinch of cinnamon. Of course, if you add some sliced, cooked chicken, you would have a terrific entree salad. In any case, you MUST try this salad...simply MUST! You'll thank me...and my friend, June.

Lastly, I have a quick treat for you. Other than the intricate apple pie that I made as a birthday gift last weekend, I haven't been doing any real baking. But the other day, I wanted something sweet to nibble on, and I came across a recipe on Farmgirl Fare for Baby Shortbread Cookies with Mini Chocolate Chips and English Toffee Bits. Not only are these cookies tender and buttery and delicious, but they are CUTE as can be, and can be whipped together and in the oven in no time flat! In fact, this recipe should be earmarked for holiday baking, as it would be a very welcome addition to any festive cookie platter.

Baby Shortbread Cookies with Mini Chocolate Chips and English Toffee Bits
(Source: FarmGirl Fare via The Kitchn)

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup English toffee bits, such as Heath (pecans would be a good swap-out, too)

Heat the oven to 350°.

With a electric mixer, cream the butter and powdered sugar until smooth, about one minute. Beat in the vanilla, and then add the flour and salt. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the mini chocolate chips and toffee bits.

With a small scoop, drop cookies onto a heavy duty baking sheet lined with unbleached parchment paper or a Silpat. (Two dozen of these cookies will fit on one sheet, so the whole batch will bake on two trays.)

Bake until the edges are just starting to brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container or freeze.

Prizewinning Pie Prepared for Pal

2009-10-19T00:23:00.006-04:00

One of my favorite things to watch on the Food Network each year is the National Pie Championships from Celebration, FL. I also enjoy trying out many of the prizewinning recipes. I'm not sure how I missed it this year, but thankfully, my buddy Anna over at Cookie Madness alerted me to a very special apple pie that won in the professional division from a recipe created by chef, Dawn Viola. It's called Vanilla-Vanilla Bean Roasted Apple Pie, and it has some very interesting and unusual twists to it. In fact, it seems at first glance like an extremely fussy recipe, but I think the resulting pie may be well worth the extra effort! The apples in the filling are roasted and caramelized ahead of time, giving them more depth of flavor, and as an added bonus, by pre-cooking the apples, you don't get the dreaded filling shrinkage that accompanies so many traditional apple pies. But the real star of this pie is the crust. While Ms. Viola actually makes her own butter, any higher-fat European-style or Danish butter can be substituted. The richer, more flavorful butter yields a pastry that is delicate and so shatteringly flaky, that it's almost like eating baked apples inside of a crispy croissant rather than regular pie crust.

Of course, for someone who lives in a very small city with only three proper grocery stores, finding the high-end butter proved...problematic. After searching all of Plattsburgh, including the health food co-op, I realized that I was going to have to cross the border. That's right--I had to go to another COUNTRY to find appropriate butter! And even that was more complicated that I had originally anticipated. I thought I would try the butcher in Covey Hill, but they were already closed the night I went. So then I continued on into Hemmingford proper, but the main grocery store there was closed, too! Frustrated, I decided to pop into the merry little Irish resto-pub called Witsend for some fish and chips to boost my spirits and strengthen my resolve before continuing my quest. Once I'd finished my dinner, I headed east to Lacolle to the IGA, which I knew stayed open later than the places in Hemmingford. Et VOILA! I found a brand of Swiss-style butter called Lactancia. There were a lot of different varieties, including something called "antique" butter (scary thought--but you know I had to buy some to try it!). In the end, I used the one that came in sticks called "My Country," a cultured variety. Man, is that stuff DELICIOUS! It's very dense and rich and has a slight tanginess to it that I knew would be delicious in the crust of the apple pie.

I tried to follow Ms. Viola's directions fairly closely, but I did do a few things differently. First, my freezers are overstuffed, so I did chill the food processor blade and the pie plate, but not the processor bowl or the dry ingredients. Also, I used regular flour and sugar, not organic. And instead of Granny Smiths, I used a combination of Jonagolds and Cortlands. When roasting the apples, I used a couple of tablespoons of maple sugar (instead of granulated) for an added boost of flavor. Because I had read reviews that said the filling was very runny and would not set up, I used two tablespoons of frozen apple juice concentrate in place of the half cup of apple cider, and I only dotted the top of the filling with two tablespoons of the very rich butter, not four! I thought the filling was sweet enough, so I didn't add additional sugar on the top crust. Lastly, I found that it took some extra time for the bottom crust to get golden brown, about one hour total baking time.

Now I made this pie as a birthday treat for my dear friend, Janice, so I didn't get to see it cut. But some of the filling exploded out of one side of the pie, knocking off a couple of pieces of the crust in the process, so I tasted a bit of it, and it was truly YUMMY! Not quite two hours after it came out of the oven, I delivered it, still warm, to the birthday girl and her family. They were coming home from a celebration at their hunting camp in Churubusco, so we met at a halfway point, in the dark, by the side of the road on the Military Turnpike for the hand-off, covert ops-style. (Tee hee.) As soon as they arrived home, I got a text message assuring me that it was amazingly delicious, etc, etc, so I think it turned out well! (The Padulas are a true "foodie" family and fabulous cooks in their own right, so if they say something is good, it must be good!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANICE!

Vanilla-Vanilla Bean Roasted Apple Pie
(Source: Dawn Viola, National Pie Championships)

For the crust:
2 1/2 cups Organic all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting/rolling
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vanilla powder
3 tablespoons organic sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
2 1/2 sticks unsalted Danish or European-style butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 tablespoon white vinegar, chilled
6 – 8 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:
4 tablespoons Danish or European-style butter
12 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced in large chunks
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup organic sugar
4 tablespoons organic all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon heavy cream

For the egg wash:
1 egg
1 tablespoon of cream
coarse sugar, optional

Measure out all ingredients and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Place the food processor blade and bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes. (I just chilled the bade.)

Make the dough:
Place the food processor bowl back on the motor with the blade, as directed by the manufacturer. Combine flour, salt, vanilla powder, sugar and vanilla bean seeds in the food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter cubes and pulse 10 times, or until the mixture begins to resemble coarse meal with pea-sized pieces.

Add the vinegar and pulse to mix. Add one tablespoon of water at a time, pulsing to incorporate, until the mixture begins to clump together. Pinch some of the dough in your hand. If it sticks together, the dough is ready. If the dough does not stick to itself, add another tablespoon of water, pulse, and pinch the dough together again. Repeat until the dough holds together without being overly wet. Dough should be slightly crumbly, but hold together when pinched.

Remove dough from the food processor and transfer to a work surface. Divide the dough into two equal parts and gently shape into two flat round discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Prepare the apples:
Preheat the broiler. Add apples, vanilla bean seeds, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of the sugar (I used maple sugar here) to a roasting pan; toss apples to coat. Broil until the tops of the apples begin to brown. Apples can burn easily under the broiler, so don’t walk too far away. Toss apples as soon as you notice browning. Once apples are caramelized but not cooked through (I would say 6-8 minutes total), remove from heat and add the remaining sugar, the flour, vanilla extract (oops--this must be an accidental omission in the recipe, but I added one teaspoon) and salt. Add the apple cider (I used 2 T of frozen apple juice concentrate instead) and cream, stir to incorporate. Taste for seasoning – add additional salt, sugar, vanilla or cinnamon to taste. (At this point, I put the filling in the fridge to chill while I got on with rolling the crusts. You don't want to put hot filling into a cold crust. That defeats your purpose of keeping the pastry very cold.)

Finish the pie:
Place a 9” pie plate into the freezer. Remove one dough disc from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 5 – 10 minutes, or just long enough for it to become easy to roll, but still chilled. Lightly flour your work surface and roll out to a 12” circle. Place in the bottom of the chilled 9” pie plate. Return to the refrigerator to chill.

Remove second dough disc and roll out to a 12” circle on a lightly floured surface. Remove after bottom crust and filling from the fridge and add apples to bottom crust. Place top crust over the apples and pinch the top and bottom dough edges together to enclose the apples. Add decorative edge if desired, and slice 1” air vents around the top of the pie.

Make the egg wash:
Beat the egg in a small dish and mix in cream. Lightly brush the egg wash over the top of the pie and along the edges. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.

Bake:
Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Cover edges with aluminum foil if browning too quickly. Turn the pie in the oven, and continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Continue to cook for 7 minutes, as needed, until the crust is golden brown and flaky. (I covered the edges with a pie shield after a half hour, then covered the top with a sheet of tin foil after 45 minutes, but continued baking for an hour until the bottom of the pie was golden brown.)

Cool:
Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least two hours before cutting and serving.

Time for One Last BBQ

2009-10-12T22:28:00.016-04:00

I know I am SO LATE in offering today's recipes...like, MONTHS late! But I have a good excuse! I actually first tried these dishes back in July. A friend of mine from school invited a small group of colleagues that had become chummy over the summer via Facebook to his house for a fabulous cookout. Besides starting us off with some killer margaritas, my friend, Chris, served up some very tasty baby back ribs, this AMAZING potato salad, and also some wonderful marinated and grilled chicken skewers called "spiedies," that are apparently a specialty in the chef's hometown of Binghamton, NY. Chris tells me that everyone has his or her own "secret" recipe for spiedies, so I am honored that he'd share his secrets with me...and now you, dear readers! (Though it took me MONTHS of cajoling to wheedle all of these recipes out of him!)

I haven't made the spiedies yet, but today, in celebration of a four-day fall break from school, I tried a version of the ribs (though I made boneless beef ribs in my crock pot) and also the incredible corn and potato salad. As far as I'm concerned, we can close the book on the search for the best potato salad recipe--THIS IS IT! And if you hurry, you just might be able to prepare a batch with the very last of the farm stand produce. (There have been threats of snow here, and dustings in the higher elevations, but by some miracle, we still have local corn!)

Larry's Best Baby Back Ribs
(Source: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1667,133180-252198,00.html)

2 racks baby back ribs
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
5 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups catsup
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons spicy mustard w/horseradish
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Melt butter in 2 quart pot. Add onions and garlic. Cook over low heat until onions are soft.
Stir in remainder of ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely.

Cut each rib rack in half. Place in tins and pour a liberal amount of BBQ sauce over ribs. Cover with tin foil and place in preheated 190°F oven for 9 hours. (Yes, 9 hours!*)

Remove from oven. Discard drippings or save for other use. Transfer ribs to grill or place under broiler for about 10 minutes. May be refrigerated and grilled at later time. Serve with extra BBQ sauce. Enjoy!

*Chris cooks his ribs in the oven for 225 degrees for two hours uncovered then two hours covered. I made mine in the crock pot. I sauteed the onions and garlic in the butter until soft, then added them and all of the other sauce ingredients to the slow cooker. Then I browned the ribs on all sides in the same saute pan and added them to the pot (my ribs were boneless, but if you're using bone-in or baby backs, you'll need to cut them into sections that will fit in the pot). Cook the ribs for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low, or until exceedingly tender. I also only made half of the sauce and STILL had lots left over (which I saved for future uses)!

Potato and Corn Salad with Bacon, Blue Cheese, and Sherry Vinaigrette
(Source: Bon Appétit, August 2004)

Yield: Makes 8 servings

3 ears fresh corn, unhusked
2 large red bell peppers
2 pounds 1 1/2- to 2-inch-diameter unpeeled red-skinned potatoes (about 24), quartered
4 thick bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 cup chopped green onions
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

Prepare barbecue (high heat). Grill corn until husks are blackened on all sides, turning occasionally, about 15 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Remove husks and silk. Cut kernels from cobs.

Cut 1/2 inch from top and bottom of each pepper. Quarter each pepper lengthwise. Trim ribs and seeds from peppers. Flatten pieces, breaking slightly, if necessary. Place peppers on grill, skin side down. Grill without turning until skins are blackened and blistered, about 10 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Peel peppers; cut into 1/2-inch squares.

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain; let cool 5 minutes in strainer. Transfer to large bowl.

Sauté bacon in medium skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels.

Whisk oil and vinegar in small bowl to blend. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Drizzle 1/4 cup dressing over potatoes; toss to coat. Add corn, bell peppers, bacon, cheese, onions, oregano, and 3 tablespoons additional dressing; toss to coat. Season salad with salt and pepper. Add remaining dressing by tablespoonfuls to moisten, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Because I can't leave well enough alone, I made the following amendments to this recipe: to the vinaigrette, I added a tablespoon of grainy mustard, a half teaspoon of granulated garlic, and a pinch of cayenne. Also, I shorted the olive oil by a few tablespoons and swapped out some of the bacon drippings. And, I didn't have fresh oregano, so I used fresh thyme leaves instead. YUM!

Chris Ford's Special "Spiedies"

4 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons parsley
2 tablespoons mint
2 tablespoons chives
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon sage
4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 orange (cut up)
1 lime (cut up)

Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes. Mix all other ingredients together in large bowl. Stir up mixture and add chicken. Marinate for 24 hours. Put chicken on metal or wood skewers and grill.

*Traditional way to eat spiedies is to take a piece of Italian bread in your hand, fold it around the skewer, and pull the meat off.

I know, I know...

2009-10-05T18:27:00.007-04:00

The only thing you must be more tired of than summer squash recipes is Amish friendship recipes. But too bad! I got one more for ya. And it also includes a type of squash, so all my culinary worlds will now converge. ;-)

My latest Amish loaf is pumpkin walnut, and besides being seasonally appropriate (nay, perfect!), the pumpkin puree adds extra moisture, so I was able to cut the oil by half. Therefore, not only is it nummy, but it's higher in fiber and lower in fat. What further rationale do you need to make some for yourself? (What's that you say? You don't have any of the starter? If you are in the greater Plattsburgh, New York area and want to get on board the Amish friendship wagon, please let me know. I am more than happy to hook you up.)

Amish Pumpkin Walnut Loaves

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (3 ounce) package instant pumpkin spice pudding mix
1 cup Amish friendship bread starter
1/2 of a 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (about 3/4 cup)*
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

In a large mixing bowl blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, and pudding mix. Make a well in the center of the bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the Amish starter, pumpkin, oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and blend until just combined. Stir in the walnuts. Pour batter into two greased loaf pans (I spray mine with flour-added baking spray.)

Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for one hour. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan and cool completely on the rack.

*You can easily freeze the remaining pumpkin puree for your next batch of pumpkin walnut bread!

The Year of Yellow Squash (Continues)

2009-10-04T21:41:00.013-04:00

Are you sick of posts related to summer squash? Well, imagine how sick I am of having to think of new things to do with it! For every one squash I use up, three more appear in its place! I thought I would make a significant dent in my supply last weekend when I put up a half dozen pints of my famous zucchini relish (now summer squash relish), but nooooooo! Given the weather of late, it can't be much longer that my garden keeps offering up its plentiful yellow bounty. But until we reach the end, I still have a seemingly endless supply of squashes eyeballin' me on the counter.

So as I often do, I turned to the wise advice of posters from GardenWeb's Harvest Forum and a thread called "101 Things to Make with Zucchini or Summer Squash." Some nice person posted a recipe for something that sounded savory and hearty called "Zucchini and Sausage Stew." I whipped up a batch earlier this afternoon and let it bubble away in the crock pot all day, making the house smell delicious. Most people would serve it over some kind of pasta (tortellini would be especially good!), but I went with rice because, well, I LOVE rice, and serving it over rice also makes it gluten-free (are you reading this, Jen/Spike?). And with all those veggies in there, it's pretty darn healthful, too! Most importantly, it's tasty stuff--very warm and filling--and it will provide lunches for me (and perhaps my work colleagues!) all week.

*Follow-Up: Um....did I say ALL WEEK? I brought a crock pot full of the leftovers to school today (10/5), and it's almost empty! LOL! Oh well...I'm glad my co-workers enjoyed it. (I'll admit...it was better the next day.)

Summer Squash and Sausage Stew
(Source: adapted from GardenWeb's Harvest Forum)

1 pound ground sausage (I used 1 1/2 lbs. garlic Italian links)*
2 cups celery, 1/2-inch pieces (I finely chopped mine)
1 cup onion, chopped
2 green peppers, 1/2-inch pieces (I chopped a variety of chiles*)
2 - 28 oz. cans chopped tomatoes (I used one quart of home-canned and 2 small cans of fire-roasted)
2 lbs. zucchini or yellow squash, 1/2- inch pieces (you may also slice it--I shredded mine)
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon granulated garlic (or 2 t. if not using garlic sausage like I did)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, optional

shredded parmesan or Italian cheese blend to garnish

Brown sausage, drain. Add celery, onion, and peppers and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture into a preheated slow cooker (set to high), then add the tomatoes, squash, and seasonings. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on high, or 6-8 hours on low. Taste to correct seasonings. Serve over pasta, tortellini, or rice. Garnish with shredded parmesan/Italian blend cheese.

*I wanted to use the hot peppers that I grew in my garden, so I used a mild Italian sausage. But if you use sweet peppers, you might wish to use hot Italian sausage.

Amish Loaf MADNESS!

2009-09-30T14:40:00.009-04:00

As I shared awhile back, I recently converted some of my regular sourdough starter into that sweet and perennial favorite, Amish friendship starter. And now, of course, I am trying to find new and interesting things to make with it. First, I made a decadent chocolate zucchini cake and then some streusel-topped chocolate chip muffins. So this past weekend, I decided to veer away from chocolate (just temporarily!) and go a citrusy route.

The basic recipe for Amish Friendship Bread (CAKE really!) is as follows:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 - (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup Amish friendship starter
1 cup oil (swap out applesauce for half or all of the oil as a lower-fat option)
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup nuts

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl (or large glass measuring cup), mix the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, add the wet mixture, and blend just until you don't see anymore dry flour. Stir in the nuts, pour into two well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

This is the most basic version of this recipe, but of course you could add chocolate chips or dried or fresh fruits. You can include the nuts or omit them or substitute all manner of seeds. You can swap out different flavors of pudding mix such as cheesecake or pistachio, then you could add complementary extract flavors (like a little almond extract with the pistachio). You can substitute other spices for the cinnamon, like cardamom or ground ginger, etc. You could use orange juice in place of the milk and add cranberries for a lovely holiday loaf! In short, the recipe is highly adaptable, and could yield an infinite number of variations.

The one I tried this weekend was a lemon poppyseed version. I made it (almost) as written, except that I added a little lemon oil to up the citrus impact. It turned out really, really good--so very moist and very flavorful! In the future, though, I would perhaps make two changes. I would double the amount of poppyseeds, and I would only use one box of pudding mix. I'm not sure how or why, but some recipes for different versions of the Amish friendship bread have morphed into calling for TWO boxes of pudding, and I think that's probably overkill. The bread is almost TOO moist, if that's possible, and with a texture that flirts with gumminess. I will make these amendments to the recipe below. Still, the resulting bread was delicious, and I definitely recommend it as an option for those of you with extra starter still hanging around, or for those looking for an excuse to develop the starter and begin your own tasty experiments!

Lemon Poppyseed Amish Friendship Loaves
(Source: adapted from Allrecipes)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup poppy seeds (I would double this=1/4 cup)
2 (3 ounce) packages instant lemon pudding mix (I would reduce this to one box)
1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
1 vegetable oil (may swap out out applesauce for some or all of the oil)
2 eggs (if reducing the pudding to one box, I would add one egg=3 total)
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4-1/2 teaspoon lemon oil (or the finely-grated zest of one or two lemons), optional

In a large mixing bowl blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, poppy seeds, and lemon pudding mix. Make a well in the center of the bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the Amish starter, oil, eggs, milk, vanilla, and lemon oil or zest. Add to dry ingredients and blend until just combined. Pour batter into two greased loaf pans (I spray mine with flour-added baking spray.)

Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for one hour. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan and cool completely on the rack.

Soup for you!

2009-09-28T22:37:00.006-04:00

Open the windows, close the windows. Open the windows, close the windows. Turn on the fan in the bedroom or get a heavy sleeping bag and throw it on top of the duvet to survive the night? And today, the weather man even dared to utter the "s" word, as in "a chance of s___ on Wednesday." ACK! Last month was AUGUST, for cryin' out loud!

The weather may be a bit schizophrenic right at the moment, but I think I have come up with the PERFECT way to transition between the seasons...with a fabulous, stick-to-your-ribs chowder that blends the last of the summer's harvest with first of autumn's. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: PUMPKIN CORN CHOWDER!

LOOK at it! Don't you just want to dive into that golden-orange lusciousness? And I promise you, it is a wonderful combination of flavors that tastes as good as it looks! It starts off like a basic corn chowder, but I've taken it up a notch by stirring in a can of pumpkin puree at the end (sure, sure...roasted fresh pumpkin would be even better). Then it seemed to want for something else, but what? I tried a little cumin, and that was pretty good, but then I went with a pinch of spicy Madras Curry Powder, and it was absolutely PERFECT with the pumpkin. I didn't want so much that it screamed "CURRY SOUP," but just enough to add a little warmth and depth and sweetness. People, this soup is SO GOOD, especially the next day...as such things so often are. And it yields something close to three quarts, so you will be set for your lunches all week! You're welcome.

Pumpkin Corn Chowder

8 slices bacon, browned and crumbled, fat reserved
2-3 large stalks celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
6 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock
leaves from a large bunch of thyme (or substitute 1/2 teaspoon of dried)
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or 1/4 t. for wimps!)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
6 ears of corn, kernels cut and endosperm scraped from cob (about 6 cups)
8 small to medium red potatoes, cut in one-inch chunks
1 can pumpkin puree (about 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup evaporated milk
handful of fresh parsley, chopped (about 1/4 cup)

In the frying pan used to cook the bacon, saute the celery and onion in 4-6 tablespoons of the reserved fat until tender. Add the stock and stir, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the thyme leaves and bring to a boil.

Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large stock pot, add the curry powder, tumeric, cayenne, salt and pepper, and stir. And the corn kernels and endosperm (the milky stuff scraped from the empty cob with the back of a knife) and the potatoes, and bring back to a boil for about ten minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the canned pumpkin and the evaporated milk (substitute half and half if you prefer, but I like the flavor of the evaporated). Finally, add the crumbled bacon pieces and the chopped, fresh parsley. Taste to correct seasonings and serve.

Fabulous Fall Fare/Fair

2009-09-27T22:40:00.022-04:00

Ah, fall! My favorite time of year! We didn't have much of a summer, but all that cool and wet seems to have been setting us up for a most glorious and colorful autumn! Last weekend, I had a nearly perfect day, taking in one of my favorite annual events, the Peru Applefest--a tiny little church fundraiser with carnival games, crafts, baked goods, and live music. On Sunday, the Catholic menfolk do a great BBQ, too. You get a half a chicken, corn on the cob from Rulf's Orchard just down the road, a baked potato, cole slaw, a dinner roll, all the milk you can drink, and ice cream for dessert, all for nine bucks!

I showed up around 1pm, and first cruised through the annex to look at the crafts and bake sale items. I'm sad to report that I was too late for the infamous beer bread, but I did manage to snag a jar of dill pickles that this one young fellow makes every year. (They are ALMOST as good as my own! Tee hee.) Then I headed out back for the BBQ lunch, and when I was done eating, I was going to head down the road to Rulf's, like I typically do, to get apple cider donuts and take a horse-drawn wagon ride through the apple orchards. But as I was walking back to my car, a local band started playing, and I decided to stop and listen for awhile. Two hours later, I was still sitting there! They were pretty good, playing lots of country rock covers and a few originals; but mostly, it was just nice to sit out in the warm sun for what will surely be one of the last few days that one could do so comfortably.

After the Applefest, I skipped my Rulf's visit and headed over to my friend, Lee Ann's. It was her husband's Steve's birthday the day before, and I wanted to drop off some special treats for him. In the past, I have made him lemony things, but I knew that Lee Ann would be making a key lime pie (as requested) for dinner. With the citrus quotient covered, I decided to make something somewhat chocolately. Of course, I am still playing around with my Amish friendship starter, and I found a recipe for some tasty-looking streusel muffins. They are meant to include some sort of fresh or dried fruit, but I thought chocolate chip walnut muffins with the sourdough tang and the sweet, crispy tops would be delish. Plus, they would make a good grab-and-go breakfast item for the family during the school and work week. For my pains, I got invited to stay for a terrific, seasonal dinner (penne with chicken and homemade pesto and tomatoes from the garden), and even better, to play Beatles Rock Band with the birthday boy (it was his present) and daughter, K. Naturally, we rocked, as do these muffins. ;-)

Amish Friendship Muffins
(Source: adapted from amishrecipes.net)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Amish friendship bread starter
3/4 cup oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup nuts, chopped (I used toasted walnuts)
1 cup raisins or blueberries or chopped apple (optional--I used chocolate chips instead!)

Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, slightly softened

Preheat oven to 350. Liberally grease muffin tins if not using liners.

Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt,cinnamon, and sugar. Stir in the starter, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add nuts. Mix in optional ingredients, if desired. Fill lined or well-greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Sprinkle each muffin with topping and bake for about 20 minutes. Makes about 22 regular muffins.

All by myse-ee-elf! Don't wanna be...

2009-09-23T15:04:00.007-04:00

Everyone who knows me knows what a very social creature I am. I really love people, and in true Myers-Briggs extroverted type, when I am feeling down or tired or frustrated, being around others usually reenergizes me and pulls me out of my funk. So perhaps you can appreciate the gravity of the situation when I tell you that my closest friend and (former) roommate left at the end of August last year for "a month of training" at the home office of her company near Minneapolis, and never came back. I don't blame her, mind you. Two months after she left, they reorganized and eliminated her department back here in Plattsburgh, so she no longer had a job to come back to! And in this economy, a person would be a fool to give up a steady, salaried position. However, that means that I have been living on my own for over a year now. Fall semester (2008) wasn't too bad, as I am always so busy, that I blinked and it was Christmas! But the holidays were tough, and even more so, the long, dark, winter cooped up in the house by myself. And then this past summer, when everyone was out and about, and I am usually taking my little road trips here and there and doing fun things, I had no one to go with me (sniff!).

In short, I am just OVER living alone! I admit, having the big comfy chair and the remote control and/or the computer to myself is nice. And everything is always exactly where I put it, so I can usually find things when I need them. And even though I love cooking, sometimes it's liberating, after a long day at work, to just grab a hodgepodge of odds and ends from the fridge to nibble on (what my friend and officemate, Lee Ann, proclaims "Sampler Night" at her house!) and call that dinner, without feeling the need to prepare a proper meal...or even do the dishes for a day or two (since there aren't that many to pile up)! But using my fabulous new Beatles Rock Band game as a metaphor for life, it can be enjoyable to play by yourself, but it's always more fun to have others play with you in your band!

There are other (culinary) things that are vexing about living alone, too, such as the tiresome redundancy of leftovers in general, and the inability of one person to use an entire loaf of bread before it goes stale in particular. They really should sell half loaves for singletons. I can't tell you how much bread I've thrown out since my roommate moved away! In fact, I buy bread a lot less now, prefering to keep wraps in the fridge for the occasional sandwich. But I was craving toast recently, so I broke down and bought a loaf. Still, I only managed to consume maybe a third of it before it dried out on me. This time, I refused to be wasteful, so I considered what I might make with the leftover bread. Croutons and panzanella (bread salad) were initial contenders, but then I was reminded of an episode of Nigella Feasts where she used a knackered old loaf of bread to make what she called "bread and butter pudding." So that's what I decided to make, bread pudding.

Usually I make a very decadent version with croissants and heavy cream for special occasions, but this was a more workaday version. In fact, so that I didn't end up wasting the leftover bread pudding, I ate it for a few nights for dessert, and then I would split a piece in half and brown it on both sides in a frying pan, eating it like French toast for a few mornings for my breakfast! Clever, eh? It was very tasty, but I made one big mistake. As I usually use croissants or a crusty, hearty loaf of some kind to make bread pudding and not sandwich bread, I ended up cutting the pieces too small, and then I mixed them together with the custard, so that the pieces disintegrated and the pudding compacted too much, with the resulting dessert being tasty, but too dense for my liking (refer to picture at the end of the recipe). I do remember Nigella making hers with alternating half pieces (with every other pointy end sticking up), then pouring the custard over the top, and now I see why. At the very least, I should have toasted the bread a little ahead of time. Oh well, I will correct these problems in the recipe below, and then you folks may learn from my mistakes. I dedicate this bread pudding, as Beyonce' sings (featured prominently on tonight's episode of my new favorite show, "Glee"), to all the single ladies!

Singletons' Bread and Butter Pudding

about 2/3 to 3/4 of a loaf of stale bread, pieces cut in half (you may wish to lightly toast the pieces of bread before cutting if it's a very tender sandwich bread)
1 to 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, toasted*
6 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter, cut into very small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, and layer in the pieces of bread, overlapping them to try to eliminate empty spaces. Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the bread as evenly as you can.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until light in texture and pale in color. Then whisk in the half-and-half, extracts and salt. Pour the custard evenly over the bread and almonds, and set aside for about ten minutes for the custard to soak in thoroughly. Top the pudding with bits of butter scattered across the top, and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, or until the pudding is puffed, browned, and just set in the middle. Serve by itself or with a dollop of your favorite jam and/or whipped cream.

*I personally LOATHE those wrinkly little abominations known as raisins, but feel free to swap out raisins for the almonds (or use both!) if you so choose. Though I would nuke the raisins with a little orange juice or rum and let them plump up first before adding them to the pudding. Again, you do as you see fit...

MORE squash-based desserts? Really??

2009-09-19T16:03:00.009-04:00

I know I seem to have a theme going here, but bear with me. I bought one small (four-inch) pot of yellow squash starts to plant in my garden, split it in half to share with my friend, Vicky, and I still have yellow squash coming out of my ears! Vicky must be also be awash in squash, because she brought a loaf of the BEST zucchini bread into work the other day to share with us, her lucky co-workers. Now, as you know, if I am adding squash to baked goods, I prefer the chocolate zucchini cake in all its forms. Regular zucchini bread has never done too much for me. But this was REALLY delicious! So I asked for the recipe, and wouldn't you know, it was from Paula Deen, known for providing us with killer (almost literally) decadent recipes. For my colleagues who tasted the bread that Vicky made and want to make that exact version, here is that recipe (although Vicky omitted the nuts):

Paula's (and Vicky's) Zucchini Bread
(Source: Paula Deen via Food Network)

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in.

Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

When I went to the Food Network's website to retrieve the above recipe, I read almost all of the previous 487 reviews! With the help of the people who had gone before me, I had some pretty good ideas about what I might want to tweak. And I am happy to report that my version yielded two AMAZING loaves! The bread was tender and flavorful with an awesome, slightly crunchy crust. Here's what I did to adapt Paula's recipe:

--Despite reviewer claims of saltiness, I left it at a half tablespoon, because I love the salty-sweet thing. (Those who don't may wish to cut back to 1 teaspoon.)

--I cut the nutmeg to 1/4 teaspoon (freshly grated, which is powerful stuff).

--I added 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (and had no loaf top sinkage as many reviewers reported, and as the picture on the Food Network's web site clearly displays).

--I upped the cinnamon to half a tablespoon.

--As many people found the bread overly-sweet, I reduced the sugar to 2 1/2 cups, and swapped out one cup of brown sugar for the white.

--Many reviewers chose to cut the oil by half and replace it with applesauce to add flavor, preserve moistness, and make it a bit healthier. I might try that next time.

--I omitted the water (which I always consider a flavor diluter), and increased the squash to 3 cups, thus adding more moisture. Also, I used yellow squash instead of zucchini, because as I said, I have a TON of it from my garden!

--I added 2 teaspoons of vanilla because it seems wrong not to.

--I doubled the amount of nuts (2 cups) because I love them so, and toasted the pecans for a few minutes in a dry frying pan beforehand. This is always worth doing when nuts are involved.

--As many reviewers had trouble with the loaves sticking, I sprayed my pans with floured nonstick spray and put parchment just on the bottoms of the pans. The loaves turned out perfectly (after letting them cool in the pans on a rack for 10-15 minutes).

--I used dark, nonstick pans, so I reduced the baking temperature to 325, and they took an hour and five minutes, rotating the loaves about halfway through for even baking.

Taking all of these amendments into account, my version of the recipe goes like this:

Gina's Summer Squash Bread

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups grated yellow squash
2 cups toasted walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and sugars. In a separate bowl or large glass measuring cup, combine oil, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add squash and nuts and fold in.

Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray and lined with parchment, for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes. Let loaves cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before turning out and allowing to cool completely on the rack.

More fun with zucchini!

2009-09-08T14:10:00.013-04:00

It's that time again...when your garden starts giving you daily baseball bats of zucchini--or if you didn't plant any, your friends and neighbors clutter your stoop with their friendly offerings. Oppressive as the onslaught may be, I still welcome it. I make my zucchini relish for the rest of the year (which I put on darn near everything!), shred and freeze some in two-cup portions for baking during the winter months, and of course, make my very favorite, absolutely-to-die-for chocolate zucchini cake! However, recently, one of my dearest college friends was talking about using an Amish friendship starter in her baking--something I haven't done in more than a decade, because you ultimately end up with swimming pools of the stuff once you feed it a few times, and your friends and colleagues quickly become vexed when you overshare! But it had been a long time since I had baked with the "Amish" starter, plus, I remember reading in the King Arthur cookbook that you could use your regular sourdough starter to convert it to the sweet Amish friendship starter, which I've always wanted to try.

So I took a cup of my regular sourdough starter and put it in a glazed ceramic bowl, then added a cup of milk, a cup of sugar, and a cup of flour, covered it loosely and let it do its thing for about 24 hours on the kitchen counter. Sure enough, the next day, it was all bubbly and puffy and lovely. Now...what to do with it? This is when I got what turned out to be a brilliant idea: AMISH Chocolate Zucchini Cake! I sort of combined King Arthur's recipe for the traditional Amish friendship cake made with the sweet starter and my regular chocolate zucchini cake recipe. For an initial experiment, I think it turned out very well, moist but structurally sound and very flavorful, with that slight sourdough tang from the addition of the starter. And I really took it over the top by adding a terrific maple walnut icing! The only change I would make would be to increase both the sweetness and the cocoa content by a little bit, and I have included those amendments in the recipe below. The great thing about the King Arthur version of the Amish friendship starter is that the leftover cup of starter can be stored in the fridge and fed again again at a later date to bake something else yummy! But let's start with this:

"Amish" Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/3 cup butter
2 ounces/squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup cocoa powder (preferably dark)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (activated) Amish friendship starter
3 cups zucchini, peeled and shredded
2 cups walnuts, toasted and very coarsely broken up
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray one 12-cup bundt pan and a large loaf pan.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the two squares of unsweetened chocolate with the butter (about two minutes total, stopping and stirring once or twice). Mix in the cocoa powder and set aside to cool a bit.

Beat oil and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until well blended. Slowly add in the chocolate and butter mixture and mix. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Mix in dry ingredients in thirds, alternately with the Amish friendship starter. Mix in grated zucchini, nuts, and chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about an hour for the bundt, and 50 minutes for the loaf. Cool cakes for about 15 minutes in their pans before turning out to cool completely on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar before serving, or better yet, coat with maple walnut icing (recipe to follow). This is such a moist cake that it will keep (covered) for up to a week.

*Like most cakes of its kind, it's even better if you let it age for at least 24 hours before cutting and devouring.

Maple Walnut Icing

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup (real, preferably Grade B) maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
pinch of salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, cooled, and chopped

Cream together the butter and syrup until smooth. Mix in the vanilla and maple extracts and salt. Whisk in the powdered sugar (adding a little extra powdered sugar if too thin or some cream by the teaspoon if too thick). Stir in the chopped walnuts. Pour over the cakes and let it drip down the sides. (You can always zap the icing in the microwave for 15-30 seconds on defrost to make it more pourable if need be, then it will set up nicely as it cools.)

That takes care of dessert, but there's always more zucchini to use up, so we need something savory. There are many, many versions of zucchini bake, casserole, or pie out there, but I have one that I favor that makes use of many goodies from the garden, including fresh herbs and both sweet and hot peppers. It makes a good side dish for dinner with some sort of meat from the grill, or a nice lunch entree, or topped with poached or basted eggs, a terrific breakfast/brunch!

Gina's Zucchini Bake

1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups shredded (unpeeled) zucchini (or yellow squash or a mix of the two)
1/2 large onion, diced or shredded
1 large red pepper, seeds and ribs removed, diced or shredded
2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and ribs removed, diced or shredded
4 green onions, root ends removed and sliced thinly (both white and green parts)
4 large eggs, beaten
1 cup Bisquick (or similar baking mix)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon each)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (or a teaspoon dried)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 8x8 square baking dish or 9-inch Pyrex pie plate with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the shredded squash, onions, and peppers. Cook for about five minutes until veggies start to soften. Set aside to cool for ten minutes or so.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, then mix in the Bisquick, cheeses, parsley and salt and pepper. If the veggie mixture has cooled to warm, stir it all in at once. If it's still very hot, add it a little bit at a time to the egg mixture to temper it slowly (like a custard).

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes until set in the very middle and golden brown on the bottom and edges. You can top with some more shredded cheddar cheese, or some sliced ripe garden tomatoes and/or poached eggs for a breakfast dish. Yum!

Early Autumn Incites Baking FRENZY!

2009-08-30T14:20:00.012-04:00

So much for our two weeks of summer! I have spotted the first few trees starting to turn color, and a few nights ago, I had to run around the house, closing all of the windows, and digging up some spare blankets to avoid turning on the heat! There was an actual frost warning--IN AUGUST! What ridiculous weather we've had this year. And this weekend has been drizzly and damp, and it has really put me in a serious baking mood.

I usually bake for other people, but as this is my last weekend of freedom before the semester starts in earnest, yesterday, I made some cookies just for ME! Not that I won't share them, of course, but they are just the kind of cookie that I like best--sweet, salty, buttery and nutty. YUM! This recipe comes from King Arthur Flour, and they are simple drop cookies--easy-peasy! You can mix up the dough and bake it right away if you like, or you can chill it for cookies that are less flat and crispy (as pictured below) and more rounded up and chewy...your choice. I really only made one significant change to the recipe. I LOATHE the overpoweringly artificial taste of butterscotch chips, so I swapped out some toffee bits and extra pecans. Delish and truly addictive!

Salty-Sweet Butter Pecan Cookies
(Source: adaped from King Arthur Flour)

1 1/3 cups pecan halves (I used 2 cups)
2/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon butterscotch, vanilla-butternut, or butter-rum flavor (I used Princess Cake flavor, which is mildly nutty)
1 teaspoon vinegar, cider or white (I used cider)
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups butterscotch chips (I swapped out 1 cup of toffee bits)
1/2 cup granulated sugar mixed with 3/4 teaspoon plain table salt, for topping

1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment or a Silpat) two baking sheets.
2) Place the pecans in a single layer in a pan, and toast until they've darkened a bit and smell toasty, about 8 to 9 minutes. Set them aside.
3) In a large bowl, combine the sugars, butter, shortening, salt, espresso powder, baking soda, vanilla, flavor, and vinegar, beating until smooth and creamy.
4) Beat in the egg, again beating until smooth. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is thoroughly combined.
5) Mix in the flour, then the chips and toasted nuts.
6) If you're going to refrigerate the dough, cover the bowl, and refrigerate for about 4 to 5 hours; or overnight. Cookie dough refrigerated for 3 1/2 to 4 hours will spread moderately; chilled overnight, it will spread much less.
7) Mix the 1/3 cup sugar and salt for the coating, and put it in a bowl. To bake cookies immediately (without refrigeration), use a spoon (or a tablespoon cookie scoop) to scoop 1 1/2" balls of dough into the sugar/salt mixture, rolling to coat. Then transfer to the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2" between them on all sides; they'll spread quite a bit. Or use a teaspoon cookie scoop to scoop 1 1/4" balls of dough.
8) Bake the cookies for 10 to 11 minutes — 11 minutes for smaller cookies, 12 for larger ones. Their edges will be chestnut brown and their tops a lighter golden brown. (For dough that's been refrigerated, add 30 seconds to 1 minute to those baking times.) Remove them from the oven, and cool on the pan until they've set enough to move without breaking. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Yield: about 4 dozen 3" cookies, or 7 dozen 2 1/4" cookies. (SHEESH! Mine must have been big ones, as I only got 32 cookies!)

But I didn't only indulge in selfish cookie baking, I also made a pie today--perhaps the most perfectly executed specimen ever to come out of my oven! I'm thrilled that it turned out so well, because it's a gift for my neighbors who helped me out of a (literal) jam lately. I won't go into too many of the gory details, but suffice it to say, I'm still having sewer drainage issues that have been plaguing me since the spring thaw. And my brave and selfless neighbors came over, dug down to the main line in the back yard, and snaked it clear with a couple of long lengths of cable from the barn. Talk about Good Samaritans! So I thought the least I could do was to pay back some of my indebtedness with a homemade pie. Both fellows enjoy all kinds of berry pies, so I rooted around in the freezer and found one bag of blackberries and another quart of wild blueberries. Thus, it was to be a black-and-blue pie! And since I've been making a lot of double-crust pies of late, I decided to go with a crumble topping for this one. My neighbors like a rather sweet pie, so I knew it would go over well. I believe that this recipe yields a perfect transitional pie between the seasons--showcasing summery berries inside, but with a warmly-spiced topping that hints at autumn right around the corner.

Black-and-Blue Crumble Pie

one nine-inch pie crust, your favorite recipe

Black-and-Blue Filling:
5 cups blackberries and blueberries (in any proportion you prefer)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons tapioca flour (or ground instant tapioca)

Crumble Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, slightly softened

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and chill the pie crust until very firm. In the meantime, gently mix together the berries, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, corn starch and tapioca flour. Set aside until the oven has come to temperature and the pie shell is well chilled.

Pour the berry filling into the pie shell and even the top with a spatula. Bake on the lowest rack in the oven for 30 minutes. Toward the end of the first half hour of baking, make the topping. Whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Then blend in the butter with your fingers until evenly distributed throughout the dry ingredients, and large, moist crumbs begin to form.

After the pie has baked for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven, add a pie shield (or tin foil) to the edges, then carefully top the pie with the crumble mixture. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees, and return the pie to the oven for about another 45 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling up from underneath and puffing up the topping all over (especially in the middle!), and the topping is golden to caramel brown.

Carefully remove the pie shield (tucking any loosened pieces of the crumble right back onto the hot pie filling), then cool the pie completely on a wire rack, at least two hours, before serving.

The summer's finally PEACHY!

2009-08-24T18:08:00.020-04:00

I command you to walk away from the computer this very minute, and hurry to the store or farmstand or farmer's market, and buy yourself a whole passel of peaches which are--right at this very moment--at their peak of juicy perfection! Of course, my zone (4) is just too frosty for this heat-loving fruit, so our "local" peaches generally come from New Jersey, just a day's drive. Despite the cool, wet summer, the peaches are quite lovely this year. Other than eating them out of hand, the best thing you can do to showcase peaches when they are perfectly ripe is to make a homemade peach pie! But first, an introductory anecdote, as is my way...

Last weekend, my friends and I attended the 154-year-old tradition known as the Redford Picnic (colloquially, "The Fifteenth of Redford") in Redford, NY. Its main function is as a church fundraiser, and there are all the typical games of chance and food booths and homespun music performances that are to be found at any such country fair. The two attractions that make the Redford Fair unique are first, the wonderful 1890's Armitage-Herschell wooden carousel that was donated to the Church of the Assumption in Redford in 1910 and is reported to be the oldest in America that is still in operation. It is comprised of 24 original carved horses and four sleighs, and the carousel can be ridden just once a year at the Redford Picnic, formerly powered by actual horses, and now run by a tractor.

The second event that truly defines the Redford Picnic is the pie booth, where you put your quarter down on a number between 1 and 30, spin a roulette-type wheel, and if it lands on your number, you win a pie! Of course, if you're not a lucky person, you can always purchase a pie for ten bucks. Though the pies are homemade, whether you get an edible one or not seems to be as much of a gamble as the spinning wheel game itself.

My friend June and I both tried to win a pie, but we gave up after a couple of bucks' worth of quarters. June finally bought a pie, mainly for her pie-loving husband, Tom. She chose peach, but I could tell by the looks of it, it was sub-standard. (I suspect that pie-making skills have deriorated quite a bit since the Redford Picnic's inception in 1855!) The crust looked thick and dry and decidedly un-flaky, and the peaches inside--God help us--may have been from a can. Moreover, they were glommed together with little beads of undissolved tapioca. In a word, EWWW!

I felt so bad for them, that when I spied some lovely Jersey peaches in the grocery store this week (for a mere $0.69/pound!), I quickly grabbed a few pounds and decided to make them a proper peach pie. As he ate his icky Redford pie, Tom (born in Alabama and raised in New Orleans) unkindly proclaimed that northern piemakers obviously knew nothing about making peach pie. So I took it upon myself to reclaim the honor of the Yankee piemaking tradition!

Of course, I began with my favorite half-and-half pie crust recipe rom Ken Haedrich, but to make it truly old-fashioned, genuinely Southern, and ridiculously light and flaky, I made it with half butter and half lard instead of vegetable shortening. Then for the filling, I used three pounds of perfectly ripe, peeled peaches, with just a scant half cup of sugar, a little vanilla and a few drops of almond extract (always good when paired with stone fruits), and because they were so juicy, some extra thickener so that the filling wouldn't end up being runny.

Since I made the pie as a gift, I didn't get to see the inside with my own eyes, but June sent me a picture after she cut the first slice, and it was GORGEOUS! The filling wasn't runny, but neither was it stiff like Jell-O. The peaches softened but did not dissolve into mush, and the bottom crust was golden brown, as it should be. I quote June, the recipient of said pie: "The peaches were perfect. Tender, yet each holding its shape. Their freshness really shone through. The pie was light and yet tasty. The perfect summertime dessert." SUCCESS!

Perfect Peach Pie
(Source: crust recipe adapted from Ken Haedrich's Pie)

Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup frozen lard, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup ice water

Filling:
3 lbs. peaches (8-10), peeled and sliced in sixths
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons corn starch
3 tablespoons tapioca flour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter

Egg Wash (optional):
1 egg
1 tablespoon cream

In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, sugar and salt and pulse to blend and aerate. Add the cold butter and lard and pulse about ten times until the fat breaks into petite pea-sized pieces and the dough looks like crumbly oatmeal. Drizzle in about 1/2 cup iced water, more or less, just until the dough holds together when pinched between your fingers. Divide the dough in half, form two disks on pieces of plastic wrap, and chill for at least an hour, or even overnight.

When the dough is thoroughly chilled, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and prepare the peach filling. Make an shallow "X" in the bottom of each peach with the tip of a sharp knife. Drop the peaches into boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute, or until the peels start to loosen. Remove the peaches to a bowl of cold water, then peel and pit them, and cut each one into sixths. Sprinkle the peach slices with the lemon juice, then gently mix in the sugar, vanilla, almond extract, corn starch and tapioca flour, and set the mixture aside while you form the pie crusts.

Roll out one of the crusts and fit it into a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate, cutting off the excess and forming a stand-up edge between a half-inch and an inch high. Place in the freezer to firm while you roll out the second crust. When the botton crust is firm, pour the peach filling into the pie plate, scatter bits of butter on top of the filling, and cover with the second crust. Pinch the edges together to seal and crimp decoratively. Cut four large slits (or many smaller ones) in the top of the pie, and use a pastry brush to apply a thin coating of egg wash (one egg whisked with one tablespoon of cream) if desired.

Bake the pie for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, reduce the heat to 350 degrees, cover the edges of the pie with a shield or tin foil, and bake for about 45 minutes more. Let cool for at least two hours before cutting and serving.

In which I pretend to appear on "Chopped"...

2009-08-18T13:01:00.006-04:00

YIKES! Another muggy, 90-degree day today! But I'm not complaining, as my vegetable garden is finally getting the heat that it needs to produce. I planted so late, and the summer has been so cool and rainy, that I wasn't sure that I would see a proper harvest this year. But yesterday while I was weeding the garden (not the hottest--har, har--idea I've ever had when it's 90 degrees), I found a few surprises and what I hope is the harbinger of many good things to come in the next couple of months.

TA-DAH! The first (mini-) harvest! I picked a small red tomato (I believe it was a super-early variety appropriately named, "Manitoba"), three black cherry tomatoes, the first straightneck yellow squash, and a handful of several kinds of basil (mostly, I was just trying to pinch the flowers off of the plants). Being the sort of person who never enjoys things going to waste, I challenged myself to using all of these fresh ingredients in one meal, sort of like my own personal episode of "Chopped."

And HERE'S what I came up with: Bruschetta-Topped Ribeye with Pan-Fried New Potatoes and Jalapeno, Squash and Corn Spoonbread! Are you feeling me, people?! Let me walk you through it...

First, I had the idea to make a cornbread filled with lots of sauteed veggies, but what I ended up with was much softer and moister, more like a squash casserole that you could almost pick up and eat with your hands, or perhaps most like a southern spoonbread. It was DELICIOUS, and as a postscript, the leftovers were great with poached eggs for my breakfast/brunch today. (My second attempt at poaching eggs Julia's way was more successful than the first, yet still nothing to brag about. But I digress...)

Jalapeno, Squash and Corn Spoonbread

4 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, diced
1 very large or two small jalapenos, seeded, ribbed and diced
1 6 to 8-inch summer squash, seeds and spongey core removed, then shredded
2 ears of corn, husked, de-silked, and kernels cut from the cob
1 can cream-style corn
salt and pepper, to taste
2 small packages of cornbread mix (I used Martha White), batter prepared acc. to package

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the diced onion, jalapeno, squash, and corn from the cob, and cook over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender. Add a can of creamed corn and mix everything together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare the cornbread mix according to the package directions (I used two small boxes of Martha White and made the batter with milk), then stir in the sauteed vegetables. Spray two regular muffin tins liberally with nonstick cooking spray, then using a large scoop, fill almost to the top of each muffin cup (you will probably get 18-20).

Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until set in the middle and golden brown around the sides. Run the point of a sharp knife around the spoonbread muffins when they come out of the oven to loosen, but let them cool in the pan for at least ten minutes or they will fall apart as you try to extract them!

While the spoonbread was baking, I diced the tomatoes, added minced garlic, salt and pepper, a drizzle of EVOO, a good splash of balsamic vinegar, a few pinches of parmesan cheese, and a chiffonade of Genovese, Aromatica, lemon and lime basils, and set the bruschetta aside for the flavors to meld while I got onto the meat and potatoes.

I liberally coated a bone-in ribeye with the house barbecue rub, and threw it immediately into a hot pan with two tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil to sear. Meanwhile, I nuked four smaller new potatoes that I acquired from a farmstand down the road about five miles from me, and when they were tender, I halved them and peeled them. When I flipped the steak over to cook on the other side, I placed the potato halves face-down in the meat drippings to brown. When the meat was done, I removed it from the hot pan to cool for a bit and to let the juices settle, and kept browning the potatoes on all sides. When they were crispy and golden, I added them to my plate, topped the steak with the bruschetta, and threw a spoonbread muffin on the side.

If that doesn't do it for ya, I don't know what will! A fitting feast to celebrate the beginning of the harvest in the North Country! REVEL in it, my friends! It was slow coming, and it'll be gone way too soon.

Summer Simulacra

2009-08-16T23:53:00.011-04:00

Friends, at long last, summer has found us. We have been flirting with 90 degrees for about a week, and there has also been some icky humidity--not Deep South muggy or anything, but uncomfortable nonetheless. I, for one, am extremely happy that it held off until my short break between the last summer session and the beginning of fall semester. And as long as there's enough heat to ripen my tomatoes and peppers, it's all good. However, as the temperatures rise, we're often less inclined to spend time in the kitchen in front of the hot stove. So I've been eating a lot of entree salads for dinner, and of course, drinking different sorts of refreshing frozen beverages. In fact, I have two recipes to share with you to help you endure the dog days of summer, as late as they may have been in coming.

First off, I simply must tell you about my new favorite salad with which I have become more than a bit obsessed! Awhile back, I was reading The Pioneer Woman's blog, as I am wont to do, and she was documenting her trip to the annual Blogher conference in Chicago. While visiting the Windy City, P-Dub enjoyed a lovely meal at a well-known restaurant called Bandera, and she was particularly effusive about a salad that she had called the "Macho Salad." I did a quick internet search and found a copycat recipe from a sister restaurant to Bandera in the same group called the Cherry Creek Grill. So I made the salad one night, and have had it at least three more times since then! I love this salad--it's creamy and sweet and tangy and crunchy and altogether DELISH! However, I refuse to reprint a precise salad recipe, as I believe you should use as much or as little of an ingredient as you prefer, and you may wish to add or omit or substitute an item. It's YOUR salad...make it the way YOU want! But here's the general blueprint:

Cherry Creek Grill/Bandera's "Macho" Salad
(Source: Malisa's Food Blog)

fresh greens
diced chicken or turkey (I cheated and shredded up some breast from a deli roaster)
chopped tomatoes (I will add these when mine are finally ripe)
chopped dates (this is the key ingredient--I love the sweetness they add!)
diced avocado
crumbled goat cheese
sliced, toasted almonds
cornbread croutons (I've substituted focaccia croutons and in a pinch, used a handful of seasoned cornbread stuffing cubes)
freshly-ground black pepper

Dressing (this is easily enough for 4 to 6 entree salads):
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced (I doubled this, as is my way!)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil (or 1/2 teaspoon fresh)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1/2 teaspoon fresh)
1 1/4 cup olive oil (I used half olive and half canola oil)

After you have your nice, healthy salad for din-din, you're allowed to have a special treat for dessert. One of my all-time favorite summer splurges is the Orange Slammer from Friendly's. It's SO yummy, and really cools you off on a hot day. Buit what is NOT cool is the price! It costs $4.60 or thereabouts--as much as some sort of fancy coffee beverage at Starbucks! Ridiculous! So I usually only enjoy a couple of them each summer. But the last time I was in there, I lucked out and got to watch and learn as a new employee was trained on the Orange Slammer methodology.

You add four or five good scoops (about a pint) of orange sherbet into your blender and add a cup and a quarter to a cup and a half of a fizzy beverage. Which fizzy beverage? Well, IF you can find a good-quality, flavorful sherbet (like Friendly's!), then all you need is seltzer (for my North Country peeps, Stewart's even sells a mandarin orange flavor under their house label). The problem is finding a decent orange sherbet! As far as I can tell, none of the higher-quality ice cream brands has a plain orange sherbet (though many of them have an orange and vanila swirl variety). So you may well end up having to buy house brands of sherbet. If your sherbet is of a lesser quality, you might want to add a little more zing with some lemon-lime soda, or if the sherbet really needs a flavor boost, use orange soda (and I prefer to use diet sodas myself). Whichever carbonated beverage you choose, add a half teaspoon of vanilla before you blend it up. Serve your frosty, citrusy beverage with a whimsical straw, and enjoy it along with the last burst of summertime!

Julia would not be pleased.

2009-08-14T01:09:00.017-04:00

I know I'm a week late on this post, but cut me some slack, eh? I've been finishing summer school (YAY!), and I'm still working on a big side project at school that needs to be completed this week. Ugh! Anyway, my friends and I went to see the highly-anticipated foodie film, Julie & Julia last Saturday night. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, and capped off the evening with a post-movie discussion/analysis over a decadent Espresso Chocolate Truffle Mocha at Starbucks. (Have you had one of those? Good heavens! It's like liquid candy!)

Since you couldn't join us last week, here's my mini-review. In short, it was worth EVERY PENNY of my nine bucks to see Meryl embody the completely contagious joie de vivre of Julia Child. All I have to say is, they better start polishing her Oscar now! There are also strong supporting roles, including the always-wonderful Stanley Tucci, who is delightful as her husband, Paul--they have such WONDERFUL chemistry together! (Only actors of their caliber could make us see Julia as a sex object!) And also, one of my very favorite actors, Jane Lynch, plays Julia's equally tall, equally hysterical sister. Love that! However...

I understand the filmmaker's aim, to draw the parallels between the lives of these two women, each struggling to find her identity and purpose and passion in life, by interweaving their stories. However, that gives us only half the typical amount of time to devote to each story. Unfortunately, the Julia Child story is the one that really engages the viewer (leaving us wanting more of her biography!), as there is simply not enough time to depict fully the roller coaster of triumphs and tragedies in the kitchen so charmingly detailed in Julie Powell's blog and subsequent memoir. I am a big Amy Adams fan, by the way, ever since her first role as Leslie Miller in Drop Dead Gorgeous, one of my very favorite (black!) comedies. But I would call her performance in Julia & Julia affable, but insipid. I do not fault Ms. Adams or her talent; she simply wasn't given much to work with. I can tell you, as someone who followed her blog early on, before it was a book or a movie, Julie Powell is much wittier and more entertaining than the film reveals. Again, I think it's because so much of her culinary journey was short-changed by the parallel lives format.

I hate to speak unkindly toward the film's writer-director, as Nora Ephron also wrote the screenplay for my very favorite film, When Harry Met Sally. But other than Sleepless in Seattle, I generally do not prefer her directorial efforts, and in the case of Julie and Julia, I fault her adaptation as well. She clearly privilieges the Julia over the Julie in both plot and characterization. So in short (too late), the film is palatable, but Meryl is truly DELECTABLE!

The other thing that's tantalizing about the film, as you might guess, is the FOOD! In fact, my friends and I decided immediately after our viewing that we needed to have a theme dinner soon involving, at the very least, Bouef Bourguignon with Raspberry Bavarian Cream for dessert! And I myself feel compelled to make the Sole Meuniere that Julia and Paul sample when they first arrive in Paris. But until we get around to those more involved dishes, I thought I might honor Julia by mastering the art of poaching an egg. At least, that was my goal...

I started by bringing about two inches of water to the barest simmer in a large saute pan. Although I was certain that my eggs were as fresh as can be (thanks to my hens), I took a tip from Julia and boiled them for a mere ten seconds to start setting the whites. I thought it might be a good idea to poke the large end of each egg with a large push pin like I do when I'm boiling eggs (it helps the egg release from the shell more readily). But mostly, it just made little squiggly white worms swimming around in the pan!

So I fished the squigglies out, and added two tablespoons of white vinegar to the water, as per Julia's instructions. (The vinegar helps the eggs hold their shape as they cook.) Once the water came back to the simmer, I cracked each egg and gently slipped it into the water, immediately trying to lift the white up and over the yolk, in the classic tradition, but I must admit that I had little success and getting the white to cling to the yolk. (Sigh.) Still, I persevered and worked my way clockwise around the pan, cooking a maximum of four eggs at a time.

After the first egg went in, I set the timer for four minutes. When the timer went off, I used a skimmer to lift the first egg out, and I pressed it gently with my finger to test for doneness. (It needed perhaps another 30 seconds to a minute for my tastes. I like the yolk to be jellied, not liquid--what the Frenchies call "mollet.") When it was ready, I removed it to a bowl of cold water that I had standing by. This washes off the vinegar and stops the cooking.

I proceeded with the rest of that batch of eggs, and then poached four more. Julia tells us that the eggs can stay in the cold water for several hours, but I drained and refrigerated all but the ones I was planning on eating for breakfast. (If you're poaching, might as well do a bunch, for a quick breakfast for a few days or to top entree salads for lunch or dinner.) To reheat, you simply slide the egg back in the simmering water for thirty seconds, drain on a paper towel, and serve.

Julia says (hear that voice in your head now), "A perfect specimen is neat and oval in shape, and the white completely masks the yolk." It all sounds so easy, right? Then why do mine always comes out looking like MUTANTS, despite my best efforts and Julia's (and Martha's) tutelage? I mean, don't get me wrong, they are tasty little mutants, but not pretty enough to serve for company or anything. (In the picture to the left, only the egg in the back came out halfway decent-looking, and you can still see the yolk bulging out of the side a little bit!) I guess I just need to keep practicing, but for the life of me, I just dont see why we need to poach eggs at all, when it's so much easier to BASTE them--a technique I learned as a breakfast cook at Crescent H Ranch in Jackson Hole back in the day.

To baste eggs, you melt a little butter in your pan over medium-low to medium heat, crack in your eggs, and sprinkle each with salt and pepper. Then you toss two big ice cubes into the pan and cover it tightly with a lid. Cook/steam for about four minutes (or to desired doneness--press the yolk lightly with your finger to test it), and that's it! I guess they're sort of a fried/poached combo, but it's well-suited to Eggs Benedict and all other poached egg applications--with a lot less fuss! (I hope Julia isn't rolling over in her grave now!)

Fear of Falling and the Great Cooking Magazine Backlog

2009-08-09T22:19:00.018-04:00

I am embarrassed to admit that I have fallen woefully behind in reading my cooking magazines, and it's even more embarrassing to admit why that is. You see, one of my favorite things to do is to crawl into a nice, hot tub with a couple of issues of Gourmet and/or Bon Appetit and simply luxuriate. You might think that the summer's heat has been keeping me from taking hot baths, but given this year's "summer" temperatures or lack thereof (it was 45 degrees the other night when I went to bed--in AUGUST!), that's not the problem. Instead, it is the sorry state of the plumbing in the bathroom. During the spring floods, we had sewer issues in the basement that I don't even want to talk about in polite company (especially distasteful on a food blog!), and on the heels of that nasty crisis, the wood around the bathroom window has become so rotten, that when I shower, water leaks down, inside the walls, through the dining room ceiling below, and into a big bucket that I place in just the right spot so that the wood floors aren't ruined. This has actually been going on for years (yeah, my landlady rocks!), but only recently has the floor underneath the bathtub started to sound squeaky and feel a little spongey. So I became terrified that I was going to fall from the bathroom through the living room floor, all the way to the basement, and the paramedics would find me, still in the bathtub, naked and paralyzed, clutching a soggy issue of Gourmet. (Though I might prefer death to this humiliation!) Eventually, the landlady did come over and brought a plumber to check things out (nine years later--thanks!), and though the wall and the window will have to be replaced, he assured me that the bathtub is sound. You can hardly blame me for being distrustful, though, so I try to shower quickly and run away to avert disaster of the watery, plummeting variety. I have not yet been brave enough to fill the tub with the extra weight of water; consequently, my leisure reading has suffered.

Now that summer school is finally over, one of my (albeit minor) goals is to get caught up in reading my cooking mags, which will be no small feat, as there's a substantive stack of them! But I started with the March issue of Gourmet, and I was immediately inspired to make two excellent recipes found therein. For two weekends in a row now, I have treated myself to a yummy batch of something the fictitious Fannie Farmer named "Bridge Creek Heavenly Hots." They are these practically flourless, ethereally light silver dollar-sized pancakes. And they are very quick, too. The sour cream-based batter can be whipped up in a minute or two, and even though you have to prepare the little pancakes in multiple batches, they cook so quickly, that it goes very fast. (Also, as I was making them just for me, I only made a half batch.) If you love crepes or Swedish pancakes or Dutch babies, this is the recipe for you! The Heavenly Hots cook up very puffy from the eggs and sour cream, but as they have so little flour, they deflate like those other types of eggy pancakes do. In fact, when I made them a second time for brunch yesterday, I decided to double the flour, and I think I liked them even better, as they maintained a little more structure as they cooled. I served mine with browned butter and powdered sugar, which are my favorite crepe/Dutch baby toppings. But I believe blueberry jam, or a fresh blueberry sauce now that the fruit is ripe for the picking, would be IDEAL to serve with these little sour cream pancakes, especially if you were to grate a little lemon zest in the batter!

Bridge Creek Heavenly Hots
(Source: originally from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book via the March 2009 issue of Gourmet)

4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cake flour (yes, this recipe is correct as written!)
2 cups sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
*I added a teaspoon of vanilla, too.

Put the eggs in a mixing bowl and stir until well blended. Add the salt, baking soda, flour, sour cream, and sugar (and vanilla, if using), and mix well. All of this can be done in a blender, if you prefer.

Heat a griddle or frying pan until it is good and hot, film with butter, and drop small spoonfuls of batter onto the griddle—just enough to spread to an approximately 2 1/2-inch round (=a tablespoon of batter). When a few bubbles appear on top of the pancakes, turn them over and cook briefly.

*While you are cooking successive batches of pancakes, keep the finished ones on large oven-proof platter or cookie sheet in a warm oven.

So that's what's for breakfast. Now, what shall we have for lunch? Though I may take issue with a simple grilled sandwich as the cover of GOURMET magazine, I could not deny its tempting allure. The dish that was March's cover girl was the Monte Cubano, a cross between a Cubano (the Cuban sandwich that usually has roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickles and mustard) and a Monte Cristo (which has ham and turkey and cheese and is then battered and fried). How GOOD does that sound? And it's SO simple! I was even thinking that this would be a terrific recipe for your panini grill (shout out to my friend, June, who just got a new one!).

Monte Cubano
(Source: Gourmet, March 2009)

2 slices firm bread
1 to 2 teaspoons mustard
4 or 5 dill pickle rounds
2 slices boiled or baked ham
2 slices smoked turkey
3 thin slices Swiss cheese
1/2 garlic clove
1/2 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 large egg
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Spread one slice of bread with mustard and top with pickles, meats, and cheese. Mince and mash garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt, then mix with mayonnaise. Spread on remaining slice of bread and assemble sandwich. Beat together egg, milk, and 1/8 tsp each of salt and pepper, then soak sandwich in egg mixture.

Melt butter in a heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat. Cook sandwich, uncovered, until underside is well browned, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook remaining side, covered, until well browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, one minute.

As both of the above recipes call for eggs, I thought I might end this post by sharing a picture of the weird eggs that one of my hens has been laying for me lately. Often, when pullets first start to lay, they'll give you tiny eggs, but even the youngest of my girls are almost three! Very peculiar...

A Canning Miracle!

2009-07-31T23:41:00.008-04:00

I was reading GardenWeb's Harvest Forum, as is always my way, and someone calling herself Malna from New Jersey posted a picture of her new canner that her hubby surprised her with. It's from Ball (Jarden), and it's their new Elite stainless steel canner. Well, one look at that beautiful thing was all I needed! I decided to splurge and buy one for myself! (Some girls treat themselves to clothes or shoes or purses--I prefer kitchen equipment. Tee hee.) To be sure, the price tag was a bit daunting at $80, but I rationalized the purchase in two main ways.

First, my current (classic speckled enamel) canner--at 13 years old--was looking worse for wear, coated with mineral deposits inside and getting thin in spots on the bottom. And the uncoated rack was all but disintegrating due to rust! In fact, I had been considering buying a new stainless steel rack for my old canner (the kind with narrower concentric circles so that small jars don't fall through), but the rack was twenty bucks by itself. Which leads to my second justification, which was that the only replacement canner I could find around here was the whole Ball canning kit, including all the tools that I already have, and that one is $60! OK, OK...I could order just the canner and rack online for maybe $25, or to be truly frugal, I could go buy a big pot at the kitchen supply store for even less and fit it with a round cake rack in the bottom to serve as a rack. But DARN IT, I just wanted the new, fancy canner! And as my first one lasted thirteen years, the heavy-bottomed stainless steel one should last the rest of my natural life! I'll certainly get plenty of use out of it, as anyone who reads this blog knows that I can A LOT, and also teach canning classes at school from time to time.

Even though I thought I could probably get another season out of my old canner, I talked myself into ordering the lovely new model from a site called The Housewares Store. They had it on sale for $68.99, so with eleven dollars for shipping, that took it to $80, which is about how much it costs if you order it from Ball's website, but then you still have to pay shipping on top of that. So at least I saved a little there! However, I didn't have time to wait for the new canner to be delivered, as I still had three pounds of Black Velvet apricots getting overly-ripe in the fridge, and one of my projects for the weekend was to experiment with an aprium-pomegranate pepper jelly based on my favorite apricot pepper jelly recipe. So earlier today, I busted out the old canner and got to work. I had the jelly cooking on the stove, and the water in the canner was almost up to a boil when I heard a funny sound, like a hissing, and then smelled propane. As I bent down to examine the burner, I could see that the depression around the element was filling with water which had snuffed out the flame. My faithful old canner had sprung a leak, the day after I placed an order for the new one! DIVINE PROVIDENCE, I say! The universe clearly wanted me to have the fancy new canner!

I swear to you, I did NOT sabotage my old kettle with a screwdriver or anything to further justify my extravagant purchase. And if I did, I certainly wouldn't have filled it with very hot water that then leaked all over the kitchen for me to clean up! Furthermore, I had to process the pepper jelly in my pasta pot which wasn't really big enough for the job and kept boiling over, making even more of mess for me to deal with. By the hardest, though, I completed the two batches (having to process it in three!), and I must say, for all my trouble, the fruit combination was delicious and made a terrifically tangy and spicy pepper jelly! And it is a beautiful burgundy color as well! However, the first batch didn't set enough to my liking, so I'll give it a few days, and then decide if I need to reprocess it. By that time, the Cadillac of canners will probably have arrived, and that'll be a good excuse to break it in! In the meantime, here's the pepper jelly recipe if you want to give it try...if your canner is still sound and water-tight, that is!

Aprium-Pomegranate Pepper Jelly

1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped finely
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I used a smaller yellow bell pepper, plus one Hungarian Hot Wax pepper from my garden to make up the size difference)
1/2 cup hot peppers, seeded and chopped (I used one Anaheim-type, two jalapenos, and two serranos)
9 fresh Black Velvet apricots (or any aprium or pluot variety), pitted and chopped
2 cups cider vinegar
6 cups sugar
1 pouch (3 oz) liquid pectin

Put the dried apricot bits into a microwave-safe bowl and pour the pomegranate juice over them. Microwave on high for four minutes, and set aside to let the dried fruit absorb the liquid. In the meantime, seed and chop the peppers and the fresh apricots.

Add the reconstituted dried apricots, peppers, fresh apricots, vinegar and sugar to a large pot and stir. Bring to a full rolling boil for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pectin and stir in. Bring back to a hard boil for 5 minutes. Check the set, and continue to boil at two-minute intervals until the desired set is achieved. Fill (seven or eight) half-pint jars, wipe the rims, adjust the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

What the Heck is a Black Velvet Apricot?

2009-07-28T11:24:00.015-04:00

My little friend, K, was in a musical recently, and though I hate going into town on the weekend and try to avoid it, I had to be there for her Saturday performance. Afterwards, since I was already out and about, I decided to take a drive to see if maybe I could find a house that I could afford to buy in an area where I might like to live. I had no such luck locating a house, but I did make two critical discoveries in my travels. First--and the importance of this cannot be overemphasized--I found pineapple Dole Whip being served at Sweet Treat in little old Peru, NY! Who would have thought I could have a little taste of Disneyland so close to home? Secondly, though I usually make an annual pilgrimage to Columbia County, NY for sour cherries (that's three hours from here), I discovered that my favorite local orchard, Northern Orchards in Peru, has them! Ok, so they didn't have many this year due to the non-summery weather and some very tenacious birds, but I did get enough for a couple of pies, and I'll know to get them there next year! Yeah!

As it's still so cool and wet and, well, spring-like here, I still have rhubarb that is thriving. So when my friends, June and Tom, invited me over for dinner on Sunday evening, I had originally envisioned a rhubarb-sour cherry cobbler. My friends enjoy very tangy desserts, and the sour cherries would also honor the return of our wayward Michigander friend, Vicky, who would also be in attendance. I had in mind to make a old-fashioned, comforting cobbler. Though I usually prefer a crisp, or better yet, a crumble, I thought maybe I had overlooked the merits of the humble cobbler, and I should give it another try.

However, when I was in Sam's Club last week, I spied a package of something called "Black Velvet Apricots" that were marked down to $1.88 for three pounds! They had lovely, dark purple, nearly fuzz-free skin, and I assumed that the markdown meant that they were getting too ripe. I had no idea what they were really, but I felt certain that they would make a tasty cobbler. (As I was to learn later, they are basically an aprium--50/50 apricot and plum.) Therefore, it was going to be a sour cherry and aprium cobbler...UNTIL I looked down from my bedroom window Sunday morning and spied a TON of raspberries waiting to be picked! I started with one five-dollar plant about five years ago, and now I have a whole fence line of them! And they must really be liking all this rain, because some of the berries this year were as big as my thumb!

Having picked a quart of raspberries (in three brief sessions between downpours) with many of them already being overly-ripe, I decided to leave the sour cherries in the freezer for another time and, at long last, finally settled on a Black Velvet Apricot and Raspberry Cobbler with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust. Does that sound DELISH, or what? Well, it was! The fruit flavor combination was terrific, and I enhanced it with a little crystallized ginger in the mix (and served it with a scoop of Haagen-Dazs ginger ice cream as well, which was a very complimentary pairing). However, in the interest of full disclosure, I have two complaints. One, by swapping out raspberries for sour cherries, I ended up with a LOT more juice, and though I added an extra tablespoon of thickener, my cobbler still ended up runny...tasty, but runny. Boo hiss. Secondly, though cobbler has its devout fans, I am going to stand by my conviction that a crisp or crumble is generally preferable. Sorry, haters, but I said it! Still, this was a very yummy and very homey dessert, and with all of the summer fruits that are available to us now, you might just want to try it for yourself!

Black Velvet Apricot and Raspberry Cobbler with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust
(Source: adapted from Food Blogga via Nick Malgieri's How to Bake)

Filling:
3 pounds Black Velvet Apricots, washed, pitted, and cut into eighths
1 pint (2 cups) fresh raspberries, rinsed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour*
3 tablespoons tapioca flour* (or instant tapioca that has been ground in a food processor)
2 discs crystallized ginger (probably 2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons butter

Buttermilk Biscuit Crust:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons cold butter
2/3 cups buttermilk

Glaze:
1 tablespoon buttermilk, cream, or milk
1 tablespoon sugar

Garnish:
2 tablespoons raw sugar crystals, for sprinkling on top

Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Use a 9 or 10-inch pie plate or a 1 1/2 quart (8 x 8 square) oven-proof baking dish.

Place prepared fruit in a large bowl. Add sugars, flours, ginger, extracts, and lemon juice and stir VERY gently so as to not break up the fruit. Set aside while making the biscuit topping.

To make the crust, combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. and stir well to combine. Cut the butter into 8 or 10 pieces and rub into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk. Stir gently with a fork, being careful not to overwork the dough (or it will become leaden.) Let the dough stand in the bowl for a couple of minutes to let the flours absorb the liquid.

Flour a work surface and turn the dough onto it. Fold the dough over itself 2 or 3 times, until smoother and less sticky. Lightly re-flour the work surface and roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. For circles, using the top of a drinking glass or a round cookie cutter, make about 12 rounds.

Transfer the fruit mixture to the baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place dots of butter over of the filling, then arrange the biscuit rounds on top, slightly overlapping the edges. Brush with glaze, and sprinkle with raw sugar crystals.

Alternatively, you could make a full top crust by rolling the dough out slightly larger than the size of your baking dish. Trim excess dough and flute the edges of the dough at the rim of the dish. Make 4 or 5 (1-inch) slashes in the center of the dough.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is deep golden brown and filling is bubbling gently. (For easy clean-up, you may want to place a sheet of tinfoil on the rack under the baking dish to catch any drips--or use a Silpat or parchment-lined sheet pan under the dish) Cool before serving. Cobbler is best served warm or at room temperature. It can be enjoyed plain or with some whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla (or ginger!) ice cream.

*I think I'd swap out corn starch for the AP flour next time, and I amended the original recipe and my first attempt at it to include three tablespoons of tapioca flour, too. That should fix my runny cobbler!

Summer Product Recommendations

2009-07-24T16:51:00.019-04:00

Since I blatantly tried to snatch some money out of the corporate money-grubbers' hands in my last post, I thought I should balance things out with some new product recommendations (or maybe they're just new to me). First off, the item that should be on the top of everyone's grocery list: ICE CREAM! Haagen-Dazs has a new "reserve" flavor called Caramelized Hazelnut Gianduja that is just CRAZY GOOD, especially if you're a fan of Nutella. It's a mild hazelnut-flavored ice cream with a thick ribbon of gianduja (chocolate-hazelnut spread), and the best part, caramelized hazelnuts (toffeed hazelnuts, if you will).

Also, Haagen-Dazs has a new line of ice cream called FIVE, and each flavor has only five ingredients and no additives or preservatives. As another bonus, they have 30% less fat, and though the texture is not quite as decadently creamy as the full-fat version, it isn't enough of a difference that you would feel deprived, especially as the ice cream is so darn tasty! I tried the brown sugar flavor, which was delicious, kind of like the inside of my very favorite See's Candy, the butterscotch square. Or folks from the south might liken it to a type of fudge called penuche. I think it would be delicious paired with many different kinds of baked goods. In addition to the brown sugar flavor, they also have coffee, ginger, milk chocolate, mint, passion fruit, and vanilla bean. I think I'll try the coffee flavor next, but in my head, I am already planning some dessert pairings with the ginger flavor.

Now for a savory recommendation. When I was at Sam's Club yesterday, I was in a snacks-for-dinner mode, as I didn't feel like cooking when I got home. So I splurged on a delicious-sounding dip from Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant called Artichoke Jalapeno Garlic Dip. It costs between five and six bucks, but it comes in a very large, party-sized container, and the product itself is very thick with a very spicy kick from a healthy amount of jalapeno pieces that are swirled into it. And I can tell you from personal experience, if you mix a good amount of the dip with a very ripe, mashed avocado, you will have an amazingly zippy guacamole-like dip! And I even have an recommendation for what to put it on...

Last weekend, I was rummaging around in the back freezer and found a package of frozen southern-style hash brown potatoes, so I decided to throw together a fairly basic breakfast casserole. I was guided somewhat by a recipe on my friend, Jen's gluten-free blog. I got to know Jen when I was in grad school in Seattle in the very early 90's. She was/is the little sister of one of my dearest friends from college, Kim, and their family lived in my beloved Emerald City. (Of course, I don't call her Jen. I call her "Spike," because long ago, one of those girlie magazines like Glamour or Mademoiselle instructed young ladies to try on a new nickname for some summer fun, so I chose "Spike" for my cute little friend, Jen!) Anyway, flash forward years later...Spike is happily married with a beautiful little girl, and she has not one but TWO blogs--one all about her daughter, Danielle, and one about her struggles to convert to a gluten-free life. And I saw a version of this breakfast casserole on her blog, Feeling Better Gluten-Free. Here's my take on it:

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced small
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used some roasted red peppers from a jar I had in the fridge)
2 lb. bag frozen southern-style hash brown potatoes (thawed a minute or two in the microwave)
6 to 8 oz. deli ham, sliced into thin strips (I used black forest ham)
8 large or 10 small eggs
1/4 cup milk or half-n-half
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
good pinch of cayenne (1/4 teaspoon?)
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)
handful of fresh herbs (1/4 cup?), chopped (parsley, oregano, thyme, basil--your call!)

Grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish* with non-stick cooking spray. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the onions and peppers to soften through.** Add the potatoes and saute' until heated through and lightly browned. Dump everything into a very large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, crack the eggs and whisk them with the milk or cream and the seasonings. Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes and veggies, then mix gently. Stir in the shredded cheese and chopped fresh herbs. Transfer to the greased baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes until set, puffed, and lightly brown around the edges. Let cool for about ten minutes before serving.

*Yes, a 9 x 13 pan makes a TON, which is perfect for a large family gathering or party. You can halve the recipe, of course, but I have to tell you that it makes great leftovers that can easily be warmed up for quick weekday breakfast. And the very best use for the leftovers is to fill a large tortilla or sandwich wrap with the warmed cheesy and eggy potatoes, top with fresh salsa and a good glob of the guacamole stuff that you made with the Margaritaville dip, and you've got some good breakfast/brunch eats, let me tell ya!

**I planted my garden late, so my summer squash is just coming on, but when it's ready, and overly-abundant, and I'm trying to find new uses for it, I will definitely be shredding or dicing some up and throwing it into this casserole along with the other sauteed veggies!

A Chill New Twist on Blue Smoke

2009-07-14T17:31:00.011-04:00

So maybe we won't see a real summer in the North Country this year, but that won't stop me from sucking down the cold coffee drinks! Now, no one loves a Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino more than I, but my pocketbook cannot withstand a four-dollar hit every time! So I decided to fashion a homemade version, which not only would be a fraction of the cost, but with wonderful ingredients like my favorite Blue Smoke Coffee, I wagered that I could make something that tasted even better!

I found a few copycat recipes online, and I tried a few of them, but they all used chocolate syrup, which ultimately resulted in too wimpy of a chocolate flavor. I thought I might have some Ghirardelli cocoa in the cupboard to try, but in rooting around, I unearthed some Trader Joe's European-Style Sipping Chocolate. THAT WAS IT! It gave my chilly beverage a darker color and a richer, more complex flavor, though I did end up having to add a little extra sugar. My friends, I kid you not, you won't BELIEVE how delicious this drink is! And are you ready for the costs savings? According to an online recipe cost calculator that I used, I can make two "grande" mocha frappuccinos (or because I'm using my beloved Blue Smoke Coffee, I'm calling them Frozen Smok-accinos!) for about $1.80 for BOTH, which is less than a QUARTER of the Starbucks price! WHOO-HOO! You can thank me now....I'll wait.

(Photo Credit: Kevin Price --->)

Frozen Smok-accinos

1 cup double-strength Blue Smoke Appalachia blend*, brewed then chilled
3/4 cup half-n-half
3 tablespoons high-quality sipping chocolate (like Trader Joe's**)
3 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
12 standard-sized ice cubes

Add everything except the ice to a blender and mix until the sugar and cocoa powder are fully dissolved. Add the ice cubes and blend until the ice is completely pulverized and the mixture is smooth. You may garnish with whipped cream, if you insist, but you needn't gild the proverbial lily. Makes two decadent frozen treats!

*You can substitute your favorite medium-roast coffee, but I love Blue Smoke's Appalachia for this, as it has complimentary notes of chocolate and spice! You could also try a darker roast (like my very favorite, Blue Smoke's Canopy) at one-and-a-half strength, or an espresso roast (like Blue Smoke's Crossroads) at regular strength.

**If you don't have access to a Trader Joe's, subsitute any high-quality, European-style sipping chocolate. I might also try Ghirardelli's Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix or maybe even their Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa, though I'm sure you'd have to add more sugar in that case. (For my local peeps, the Ghirardelli products can be found at Hannaford.)

The Land That Summer Forgot

2009-07-13T23:14:00.010-04:00

As I sit here typing, the Weather Channel feature on my desktop tells me that it is 53 degrees (and dropping) on July 13th! Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Unseasonably mild weather suits me just fine! (Though the effect on my vegetable garden that I put in a month late...well...that may be another story!) It's also nice to be teaching the second summer session and not sweltering through the long class periods with only a wimpy window unit to provide a small modicum of relief.

Though the weather suggests spring rather than summer, still, the people must GRILL! Unfortunately, sometimes I'm having to dash out back between downpours to barbecue. So some quick grilling recipes seem in order, especially for easy weeknight dinners. How about this for an ethnically eclectic menu--an Asian-infused entree, a Tex-Mex side dish, and for dessert, classic Americana! OH YEAH! And though these are really flavorful dishes, they are all quick and easy, employing some helpful shortcuts.

Teriyaki Salmon Burgers with Lime-Ginger Aioli on Crispy Grilled Buns

I know I should have made my own (fresh) salmon burgers, but I bought frozen ones at Sam's Club (gasp!).

This recipe makes four burgers.

Teriyaki Marinade:
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons sriracha (red chile paste)

Whisk together the soy sauce, honey and sriracha. Marinate the (frozen) burgers in the soy mixture for 10 or 15 minutes.* In the meantime, thinly slice some red onion, thickly slice an avocado (or two) and toss it with a little lime juice to keep it from browning, and slice four bakery buns in half.

Lime-Ginger Aioli:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lime juice
4 cloves minced garlic (normal people might prefer just two cloves!)
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely-grated

Grill the salmon burgers for about four minutes on each side, basting with the teriyaki glaze every so often. Toast the buns on the rack above until they are brown and crisp. To assemble, spread the bottom bun with aioli and add some red onion slivers, then the grilled salmon patty on top of that, then several slices of avocado, then the top bun, also spread liberally with aioli. SO YUMMY!

*This recipe is also delicious using boneless/skinless chicken breasts instead of salmon patties, but you'll need to marinate longer--at least two hours or, preferably, overnight.

Pecos Bean Salad
(Source: adapted from "Whole Food Chef" via ifood.tv)

4 cups cooked beans (pinto, kidney, garbanzo, or mixed beans--I used one 15 oz. can each dark red kidneys, cannellini, and garbanzos)
1 onion, sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 green pepper, sliced (I used a couple of roasted red peppers from a jar instead)
2/3 cup oil (I used olive oil)
1/2 cup cider vinegar or lemon juice (I used cider vinegar this time)
2 teaspoons sea salt (I used kosher salt)
*I also added about a cup of (drained) canned corn because I had some leftover in the fridge, and about 1/4 cup of chopped, fresh parsley.

Place the (drained) beans in a bowl. Add the onion, garlic, pepper, oil, vinegar, and salt (and corn and parsley, if using). Toss the ingredients together and allow the beans to marinate at room temperature for one hour. Toss again and serve.

Ok, so we have our entree and side dish. Now we need a sweet finish. While strawberry season may be over or drawing to a close in other parts of the country, ours has only been in full swing for about two weeks. I have a few plants stuck in here and there throughout my herb garden that have yielded a few handfuls of lovely berries in this, their first year of bearing fruit. (The berries pictured above are from my own garden.) But I have also had to resort to picking more at Rulf's, one of my favorite local orchards and farmstands. And it's a great year for picking-your-own, as the weather is so pleasant (when it's not raining, that is)! My absolute favorite way to enjoy the summery berries is to make strawberry-buttermilk ice cream, which has such a wonderful interplay of sweetness and tanginess. It's so easy, and it's the perfect dessert to accompany meals from the grill in the warmer months...even if your months aren't all that warm!

Strawberry-Buttermilk Ice Cream

1 pint ripe strawberries
1 (generous!) cup of sugar
juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk (preferably REAL buttermilk!)

Rinse, hull, and mash the strawberries. (I like to puree them in the food processor and then strain them to get rid of most of the seeds, but if you don't mind them, skip this step.) Whisk in the sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. When the sugar is fully dissolved, gently stir in the cream and buttermilk.

Pour the mixture into the canister of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the ice cream has reached a soft serve consistency, you can eat it right away, but I prefer to transfer it to another container and harden in the freezer for a few hours. Either way, it's SO GOOD!

*Here's a tip to preserve these perfectly ripe berries for future batches of ice cream. While you're hulling and mashing and straining, you might as well do a quart instead of a pint, and freeze the extra half of the strawberry puree that has been mixed with a cup of sugar and the juice from the other half of the lemon. Then when you're ready to make more ice cream, you can thaw the fruit mixture and add it to the other ingredients which are available year-round. Clever, eh?

"Hello in there!": Treats for the Unborn

2009-07-07T22:55:00.019-04:00

This is my friend and colleague, Willow, with her cutie-patootie little daughter. Willow works in Continuing Education at the college where I teach, and she is also approximately 15 months' pregnant with her second child and no delivery in sight. Ok, just kidding. Her sonogram suggests that she may have a few more days before she's actually due, but people at work have really been giving her the business about baby #2 taking his/her own sweet time coming. Rather than goading the poor mother into labor, I decided to take a different approach: I would woo the baby with sweets!

I happen to know that Willow LOVES homemade pie, and her favorite variety is raspberry. So instead of giving her a traditional baby shower gift, I chose to shower mama and baby on the inside. Tee hee. Here is the raspberry pie that I made for Willow and her family. It's still too early for fresh raspberries here, but a couple of bags of frozen berries (Wyman's) served the purpose quite well. Of course, when the fresh summer berries are ripe, this pie would be even more fabulous!

Raspberry Pie

1 recipe pastry for 9-inch double-crust pie

1 quart fresh raspberries (or two 12 oz. bags Wyman's frozen raspberries)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons tapioca flour (or quick-cooking tapioca ground in a food processor)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter

1 small egg
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Mix together raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Set aside for fifteen minutes or so to let the filling get juicy (and to let the berries thaw a bit if using frozen).

Put berry mixture in bottom crust, and scatter bits of butter (2 T) on top. Position the top crust and crimp the edges. Make slits or cut-outs in the crust to allow the steam to escape. (Or form a lattice top as I did instead.) Whisk together the egg and cream and brush the top pie crust with the egg wash (optional).

Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F, cover the edges with a pie shield, and bake for 45 minutes to an hour more, until the filling bubbles in the very center. Let the pie cool for at least two hours to let the filling set before cutting and serving.

I made this pie for Willow and baby during the last week of June, but apparently, it did not do the trick, as it is about two weeks later, and she's still pregnant! So today, I had to bring out the big guns--CHOCOLATE! I saw an enticing recipe on my pal, Anna's blog recently for chocolate brownie scones, and I have been dreaming about them ever since. The recipe makes eight huge scones, which is more temptation than one person should have lingering around her kitchen! So I decided to treat not only Willow, but her very good friend, Meg, another dear colleague of ours in the Alumni Foundation Office at work who is also expecting (but not yet so GREAT with child like Willow!). Meg reported that the chocolatey goodness of the scone made her wee fetus do cartwheels inside her tummy, and we can only hope that Willow's baby will be lured out by the promise of more chocolate treats that the outside world has to offer!

These scones are really delicious--a bit crisp around the edges, so moist and tender inside, and deeply chocolatey (well worth the splurge to use high-quality chocolate and cocoa here). I only made one small change to the recipe, as I realized too late that I only had three ounces of unsweetened chocolate on hand. So I added an extra tablespoon of cocoa powder and an extra tablespoon of butter, and it worked out just fine. Though I might consider making one more change to the recipe when I make them again. I wasn't crazy about the strong flavor of molasses in the finished scones which seemed to compete with the chocolate (although it did mellow a bit over time). So I might either use light-flavored molasses or even dark (Karo) corn syrup instead. Nevertheless, these scones ROCKED, and as a bonus, they came together in no time. I actually made these this morning before work, which I can rarely pull off. But they were fast and easy, and oh-so-YUMMY! Maybe you have some pregnant friends or co-workers who need a little chocolate love right about now?

Chocolate Brownie Scones
(Source: Nicole Rees, Baking Unplugged via Cookie Madness)

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (oops, I forgot to chop mine!)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used half Scharffenberger and half Hershey's Special Dark)
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
1 large egg
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, divided
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
3.5 ounces semi- or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped or 2/3 cup chocolate chips (I used bittersweet Ghiradelli chips, but I chopped them up a bit)
Sugar for sprinkling (I used Sugar in the Raw/demerara sugar--nuts would be another option)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Melt the 4 oz unsweetened chocolate in microwave or in a small bowl set over barely simmering water; set aside.

Combine both flours, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in bowl of food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture is a coarse meal. Dump into a mixing bowl.

Whisk 1/3 cup of the cream, molasses, egg, vanilla, and melted unsweetened chocolate together in another bowl. Pour over the flour mixture. Mix until everything starts to come together. There will be flecks of unmixed flour mixture here and there, but don’t overwork the dough by trying to mix them all the way in. At this point, mix in the bittersweet chocolate (chips).

Turn dough onto a lightly floured or parchment lined surface, knead quickly to bring the dough together, then divide in half. Shape each half into a 5 inch 1 1/2-inch thick square. Cut each square into four triangles. Carefully move the triangles to the baking sheet, placing them at least an inch apart. Brush with reserved whipping cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Cool at least three minutes on the baking sheet, and then cool thre to four additional minutes on a rack.

Makes 8 large scones.

Tasty Ways to Deal with Your Disney Withdrawals

2009-06-30T10:50:00.014-04:00

It's been two weeks since I returned from my quickie Orlando/Disney adventure, and even though it was unbearably hot down there, and navigating the theme parks was sometimes as much hard work as it was fun, I feel like I just didn't have enough time there. This feeling was exacerbated by the fact that many, many of my friends went down there right after I left (of course!), convening for the Church of the Nazarene's General Assembly, which is being held, even as I type, in Orlando this year. (I attended a Nazarene college and taught at one, too, back in the day.) So I have had to endure Facebook reports and photos and mobile updates for more than a week, as my dear old friends gallavant around my beloved Disney without me! BOO HISS!

One of the things that I always miss the most when I leave the Magic Kingdom--almost as soon as I leave the park--is DOLE WHIP! For the uninitiated, Dole Whip is this wonderful pineapple soft serve dessert that they sell in Adventureland (and also the Polynesian Resort). It comes in several other flavors as well, but the classic variety is pineapple. You can get a cup or a cone for about three bucks (not bad for a Disney snack), or you can go all out and get the Dole Whip float made with pineapple juice and Dole Whip for four bucks. YUM! I like the double pineapple, but I also love the float to be made with orange Dole Whip. Naturally, I have been pining for the stuff since returning home from Florida, and to my amazement, I have learned that you can buy the dry mix to make it at home. There's even a very helpful how-to video online to demonstrate how to prepare it in your ice cream machine. However, it is pretty expensive stuff once you add shipping, and of course, the reports from those who have tried are that it's good, but the texture isn't the same (of course--no one has an industrial soft-serve machine at home!). The texture of Dole Whip is very creamy, despite the fact that's non-dairy. How do they do it? Unfortunately, the real Dole Whip includes all kinds of space-age polymers and food additives and goo that no one really wants to think about! We just want to eat it because it tastes good!

So to console myself during my Disney withdrawals and while so many of my friends are enjoying themselves there without me right now (sniff!), I have made it my project to come up with a Dole Whip clone that could be made at home. I found a couple of recipes that have been widely circulated around the internet to mixed reviews, but the following is my own version. Now I will not say to the Dole Whip purists that this is EXACTLY the same as Dole Whip, because you just can't get the same texture and consistency at home. And of course, my version is not dairy or lactose-free. But I can tell you that it's DELICIOUS and refreshing and my new favorite summertime treat! It can be made with only pineapple juice like the classic Disney experience, or part pineapple and part orange, which I adore. Trust me, Disney and Dole Whip fans, you've got to try this!

Gina's Mock Dole Whip

2 cups Dole pineapple juice*
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt

Whisk the juice and the sugar until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the cream, vanilla and salt. Unless your juice was cold to begin with, chill the mixture in the fridge for a couple of hours or over an ice bath for 20-30 minutes. Freeze in an ice cream machine, then transfer to a container and let it harden in the freezer for a few hours. Scoop and enjoy!

*You could also swap out some of the pineapple juice with orange juice which is SO good, or I suppose you could just use Dole's pineapple-orange blend. Then, of course, once your mock Dole Whip is frozen solid and scoopable, you can make floats with either pineapple or orange juice. YUM!!

The mock Dole Whip is the best, but if you want the same flavors in a refreshing Orange Julius-type of deal, I have also converted one of my favorite old stand-by recipes to a delicious pineapple version. This is not only a refreshing summer beverage, but it might also stave off the DT's when you're jonesin' for a Dole Whip but live far away from Mickey!

Gina's Pineapple Julius

6 oz. (1/2 can) Dole frozen pineapple juice concentrate
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk (powdered)
1 cup whole milk (2% is fine, too)
6 oz. can Dole pineapple juice (or swap this out for orange juice!)
12 ice cubes (regular-sized ones from a standard tray)

Combine all ingredients in a powerful blender until the ice is completely pulverized and the drink is smooth and frothy/frosty. Pour into two large glasses, add straws, and enjoy!

While I was trolling these internets for Dole Whip clone recipes, I found several websites and discussion boards and blogs devoted entirely to Disney cuisine, and to be sure, I have printed quite a few recipes to try in the very near future. But one of them that I had to make right away was a kebab recipe from Bengal Barbecue at Disneyland (continuing the Adventureland theme). Sadly, I have heard that the sauces have been outsourced now, so what you can buy in Anaheim are no longer the beloved kebabs of my childhood memory. But I found someone online who used to be a cook there and claims to have the original recipes. I can neither confirm or deny that assertion, but I made the chicken kebabs with the Tonkatsu marinade and served them with the Tahitian sauce, and they were FABULOUS! Also, the recipe calls for an interesting technique that I may now use forevermore. Before grilling the skewers, it has you steam them to keep them moist and juicy, then they are finished off on the grill for some color and smoky flavor. What a great idea! How many of us have dried out our chicken kebabs trying to make sure that they were done all the way through? This is foolproof! I used the steamer insert to my pasta pot (I had to snip off the end of each skewer to make them fit), and cooked them in two batches before taking them outside to the grill. Or you could always steam them ahead of time, refrigerate, and then they take just two or three minutes on either side on the grill. Your backyard barbecue guests and/or hungry Disney fans will be fed in no time at all!

Bengal Barbecue Chicken Skewers
(Source: MousePad Bulletin Board at MousePlanet)

Note: I used 3 lbs. of (=8) boneless and skinless chicken breasts which yielded 11 skewers of five pieces of chicken each.

Tonkatsu Marinade
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (I used pomegranate balsamic*)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 whole bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, grated
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
*I also added one cup of pomegranate juice because I still have some in my fridge!

Mix ingredients and marinade chicken pieces overnight in the refrigerator. Soak bamboo skewers for at least 30 minutes before grilling. Skewer the meat and steam for about seven minutes, then grill for about three minutes per side or until evenly browned. Dip in Tahitian Sauce before serving.

Tahitian Sauce*
4 whole cloves (I just used 1/8 teaspoon ground)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (again, I used pomegranate balsamic)
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce (I would use reduced sodium here, as my sauce turned out very salty)
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
3 tablespoons water

Simmer cloves in vinegar for 5-10 minutes (I didn't do this-- just used ground cloves and stirred it in with everything else). Strain cloves and add other ingredients. Bring mixture to slow boil over medium heat.

*You don't need ALL of this sauce for 11 chicken skewers, so you can easily halve the recipe. But I figured that it would keep well enough in the fridge, and I could use the homemade BBQ sauce on many other of summer's grilled meats!

A Special Visit to See Mickey (and Minnie!)

2009-06-29T14:53:00.042-04:00

Even though I was smack dab in the middle of teaching the first summer session, I had to squeeze in a long weekend in Orlando earlier this month. You see, my cousin Mandi and her partner Ashley were having their commitment ceremony, and if that weren't exciting enough, they were doing it at their very favorite place in the world, Epcot! Having never been a part of a Disney wedding, I just HAD to be there. Moreover, my family is from Georgia, and they are very conservative Southern Baptists. I was extremely worried that no one from the family would be there to support my sweet cousin as she crossed this major threshold in her life. So I was determined to be there for her!

Of course, if you're going to go to Orlando, you HAVE to have some theme park fun while you're there! So my plan was to leave Friday, hit the Magic Kingdom (my favorite!) on Saturday, Animal Kingdom (I had never been there) on Sunday, the wedding at Epcot on Monday, and then fly back that night so that I could be back in class on Tuesday. A whirlwind tour, to be sure, but a lot of recreation could be squeezed into a few days. However, I needed to compel a friend to join me, because where's the fun in doing Disney alone? Even though she was enduring a frightfully busy time at work, I talked my old roomie, Cyd, into meeting me in Orlando for the weekend. A perfect plan, right? As it turns out, not so much.

Things started out well. Cyd and I arrived around the same time in Orlando Friday evening, and after spending some quality time in Disney-like lines at Hertz, finally got a rental car and got on the road. We found our motel, got checked in, and then sought out some Cuban food for dinner. There were a lot of recommendations for a place called Havana's Cuban Cafe, so we went a checked it out. The food was very good, very authentic, and very plentiful. We started with some mariquitas (plantain chips) and mojo dipping sauce. Then we shared a "Camaguey" combination platter of grilled skirt steak, pork, and chicken, along with black beans and rice. We were so full after all that that we did not have dessert, but Cyd enjoyed a demitasse of rich and frothy Cuban coffee. When we got back to the motel after dinner, it was past pool hours, but the nice lady at the front desk told us we could swim anyway! So we spent an hour in the pool, cooling off before hitting the hay. All in all, an auspicious start to our mini-vacay! The next day was where it all derailed...

I made sure we were up and ready to go bright and early, grabbing a quick breakfast and heading directly to the Magic Kingdom to be in line before it opened. Now a couple things should be noted before I continue with my story. One, it was HOTTER THAN THE SURFACE OF THE SUN! (Orlando in June is no place to be if you have a choice about it!) Secondly, you should know that Cyd is afflicted with motion sickness, so we know to keep her off spinning things (teacups) and motion simulators (Star Tours-type). After the cute opening number and the mayor welcoming us in (I'll admit it, I got choked up!), we jumped the train for Frontierland, and headed to Splash Mountain first. Other than Cyd losing her hat on the big drop, it was very fun. Then we went next door to Great Thunder Mountain. Though we had been in the park less than an hour, this is where it all went horribly wrong. We weren't on the ride two seconds before Cyd started screaming (not in a good way) and begging me to make it stop (like I had the power). When we got off the ride, she was ready to hurl.

So we rested for a bit, and then walked slowly over to Liberty Square to one of her favorite attractions, the Haunted Mansion. I figured it was cool and dark in there, and the ride was slow enough. But afterwards, she was still not looking so good. So we rested a while longer, and then walked slowly into Fantasyland where I thought Small World would be a good choice. Again, it is a cool, dark, long, slow, gentle ride. But when I looked over at her as we floated along, her head was back and her eyes were closed. We got off the boat, and headed toward the exit. At the door, I turned around and realized that Cyd wasn't behind me, so I walked back up the ramp to discover the poor thing in a terrible state. I won't go into unpleasant detail, but I'm not sure that the Small World moat will ever be the same! :-(

Once again, we sat outside for a good long while, hoping she would feel better. But all she wanted to do was lay down and make the world stop spinning. I explained that she could NOT lay down in the bushes in Fantasyland or authorities would be notified. Hence, there was no choice but to begin the long, slow, arduous trek in the horrible heat from the very back of the park, via planes, trains, automobiles, trams and monorails back to the hotel where she promptly passed out on her bed in the life-giving, air-conditioned room. Though I had lost a couple of hours in my carefully-crafted Magic Kingdom touring plan, I sure wasn't going to miss my chance altogether to enjoy Disney World, especially since I had already bought my terribly overpriced one-day ticket! So I hauled my cookies back to the park and did the Magic Kingdom all by myself until late that evening (BOO HISS). I kept hoping that my friend would eventually feel better and rejoin me, but no such luck that day. How very tragic it all was...

The next day at Animal Kingdom went better. It was still hot as blazes, but most of the park is shaded by trees and bamboo, plus it's smaller, and is not a park that takes all day to do. However, once again, Cyd seemed determined to vex me by wearing inappropriate footwear and giving herself MASSIVE blisters, making it nearly impossible for her to walk. So we had to take it VERY slow and take frequent breaks, but we managed to see most of the attractions, and even though Cyd wasn't up for many rides, I did persuade her to try the Dinosaur ride at the end of the day without any, er, upheaval. Yay! By early evening, we were exhausted. So we grabbed some dinner on the way back to the motel, and then enjoyed another swim in the pool. We tried to get to sleep at a reasonable hour, because we planned to enjoy that old Southern favorite, the Waffle House, for breakfast before heading to Epcot for the wedding at 10am. At least, that's when I THOUGHT the ceremony was!

I got up about 7am, started getting ready and packing up my stuff. Then about 7:30am, I checked the invitation on a whim and realized to my horror that the wedding was at 9am--it was the reception that started at 10! YIKES! I screamed for Cyd to get up, and we flew around like crazy, getting out of there by about 8:15. We were only ten minutes from Epcot, but we still had to park and hike to the gate, and you must remember, Cyd's feet were thrashed, and she had to go very slowly. When we got to the entrance, not only were we late, but nobody seemed to be able to tell us how we were supposed to get to "Italy" for the ceremony. (The park doesn't open until 9, and the countries don't open until 11.) By about 8:40, as I was sobbing hysterically at the thought of missing my cousin's wedding, Guests Services finally managed to contact one of the coordinators to come and escort us to the ceremony. Apparently, not only did I get the time wrong, I totally missed the instructions that the brides sent out telling guests not to go to the park directly, but to catch a shuttle bus from one of two Disney resorts. SHEESH! But thanks to a wonderfully helpful Disney special events coordinator who ran us over to the wedding in a blissfully air-conditioned van, we made it right there right as the bus with the rest of the guests arrived, so we blended right in!

The ceremony was brief but lovely (which was probably a mercy in that merciless heat), and I was SO pleased and touched that my cousin, Dianne (Mandi's aunt), her two grown sons, Todd and Brandon, and even my Aunt Jean (Mandi's grandmother) were in attendance! I know that it was a bittersweet day for them, as they have different values and world views, but it was so amazing to me that they put their love for Mandi first and were there for her on her special day! As my aunt put it in her plain-spoken elegance, "You don't give up on family just because they don't do what you think they should do!" Amen, Aunt Jean, amen! Still, I never thought I'd live to see my 78-year-old Southern Baptist aunt dancing the chicken dance and the Hokey Pokey with Minnie Mouse and the brides at a lesbian commitment ceremony and having a ball doing it!

The visit by Minnie was the highlight of the reception that was held in a GORGEOUS room in the Living Seas Pavillion that had huge windows that looked into a giant aquarium, so that massive fish and sea turtles and such swam past us as we were celebrating. SO COOL! And being Disney, they didn't miss a trick in the fabulous brunch spread. When we first arrived, they had a coffee and tea bar for us, along with yogurt, fresh fruit, and an assortment of pastries. We sat around for awhile, soaking up the ambiance, meeting other wedding guests, and I caught up with my family, as we ooh'ed and ahh'ed at the marine life swimming past us in the beautiful under-the-sea reception room.
Then we were invited into the next room to our tables, guided by our "place cards" that were little blue boxes of chocolates with our names and table assignments, all with an aquatic theme, of course (my table was "Nemo"). Once we were seated, toasts were made, special songs were sung, the brides greeted all of their guests personally, and then it was time for brunch! On the great table, there was fresh fruit, smoked salmon with cream cheese and caviar and red onion, roasted vegetables, mashed Yukon Golds, mushroom spaetzle, smoked bacon, and maple-glazed sausages.
There was a carving station where they were serving roast beef tenderloin, a made-to-order omelette bar, and also a crepe bar where they served chocolate crepes filled with Nutella or vanilla crepes filled with cream cheese and berries, both of which could be topped with a vanilla bean creme anglaise. YUM!

After we polished off the second wave of food, Minnie Mouse arrived to get the party started! She took a million silly photos with the guests, led the dancing (with a Disney d.j. spinning the tunes), and even helped the brides cut the cake. The cake was AMAZING--one of those topsy-turvy, whimsical affairs with wonderfully bright shades of blue, as befitting the wedding colors. And the cutest touch was the two pair of Minnie Mouse ears on top! The inside was just as magical, with two flavors of cake--one was dark chocolate with a sinful chocolate mousse filling, and the other (given the brides' southern roots) was a red velvet cake with cream cheese filling.
As if that weren't enough, there was yet another buffet table with a variety of other yummy desserts, including angel food cake squares with whipped cream and strawberries, little cream horns, a miniature jelly roll, small cannolis, and tiny fresh fruit tarts with little flower and star-shaped melon cut-outs on top. I don't know how we did it, but we managed to sample some of everything. My favorite of the miniature desserts was the raspberry jelly roll which was so tender--almost ethereal. And though we found both kinds of wedding cake to be extremely delicious, we had to give a slight edge to the lusciously tangy red velvet layer!
Before we knew it, the reception drew to a close. Minnie Mouse gave the brides her very moving, though pantomimed, benediction, I said goodbye to my family, the other guests re-boarded the bus, and Cyd and I started our flaming-hot hike out of Epcot to the car and ultimately to the airport. We were exhausted and heat-stroked and battered and blistered from the Orlando experience, but overall, we had a great time. I've missed my friend so much, and it was wonderful to be able to hang out with her for a few days, in spite of all the mayhem and mishaps! But mostly, it was so special for me to share in Mandi and Ashley's commitment to each other. They are just delightful young women, so bright and motivated, with such happy and hopeful attitudes, a wonderful sense of fun, who are obviously very much in love with each other. I wish for them a lifetime of happiness together!